Many thanks to the enthusiastic participants in our recent and upcoming clean ups. We have had people from all walks of life take part. This past weekend ages spanned from preschoolers to college students, as well as "grown ups." Perhaps we'll see you next weekend. We organize these events in order to increase our impact and really make a difference. But the events are subject to the whims of the weather and the vagaries of everyone's schedules. We would like to invite everyone to join us in our clean community commitment. Even if we can't all work together at the same time; we can all work together toward the same goal. Let's make a pledge to clean up even when there isn't an event set up to facilitate it. If we all promise to make a concerted effort, we can transform the look and feel of the public spaces we inhabit.
"Pick Up Six!"
It does take some advance preparation to clean up. Not everyone is ready on the spur of the moment to nab a scrap of trash or an empty container from the sidewalk as they walk along. But let's think about how to make it more feasible in our own lives. Step one is simply agreeing that it could be an option. Step two is deciding to do it. Step three is figuring out the details that work for you. Maybe attending a clean up where it's all been organized for you works well for you. Or maybe you'll decide to carry a bag on a regular basis to put those bits in. Or perhaps you'd rather just designate a certain walk for the task and set out equipped. If anyone would like to have a go at it but can't make one of our designated clean up times, please consider the option of contacting the LNC office (570-523-0114 or elmstreet@dejazzd.com) and arranging to check out a trash grabber and bucket. Then you can spend an hour really making a dent. But even if that's too extreme, let's all "Pick Up Six" -- pledge to pick up and properly dispose of six pieces of someone else's trash from the public right of way on a weekly basis.
For many of the volunteers at Lewisburg clean ups, it has been really eye opening to see the sheer volume of tiny pieces of trash. It's not as glamorous as the items that make the headlines, but it's a serious issue. It's also surprising how well camouflaged it is -- you may look at a stretch of stream bank and think it has been cleaned and then look closer and find you can spend another half hour retrieving more bits of waste from that area. It was a "fractal endeavor" said one participant. At one point a child asked me why I was picking up dead leaves and I was able to show him that in fact what looked like a handful of dead leaves was actually a faded and disintegrating snack wrapper. We even had one eagle eye extract a realistic-looking but fake maple leaf made of nylon from the foliage!
Given all the news of the longevity of plastic particles in various ecosystems and in the food chain it's all the more important we stop these things from getting away before they go stealth and pervade the environment. For the spring clean ups, which are part of the Great American Clean Up and Keep PA Beautiful campaigns in cooperation with PennDOT, we just take an approximate census and count our haul by the bag. For the fall clean up, which is also run through PennDOT, but is part of the International Coastal Clean Up, we actually count what we're picking up (hundreds of cigarette butts, however many chip bags, bottles of varying descriptions...). It is sobering. And highlighting the plastic pigs of the world (last year's spring objet trouve mascot pictured above) doesn't get across the main message about the perniciousness of "minor" litter. So don't just make a promise not to throw away any plastic pigs this year (after all how hard is that?). Instead: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Renew! Let's all take on the encroaching dreck.
So -- if you can, and the weather cooperates -- please come out for the Saturday, April 11, Clean Up at 2pm at the St George St Boat Ramp. Or the following week, Saturday, April 18, at noon at Buffalo Valley Outfitters for the clean up being put on by our River Town Partner, the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail.
And if you can't make it then, please work with us to make it a habit to "Pick Up Six."
