Michael Chambers: Let’s See If People Stop Littering In Charlestown
The following letter was published in local newspapers and is shared with us here by the author Michael Chambers. Michael is a member of the Charlestown Economic Improvement Commission and a former member of the Charlestown Zoning Board of Review.
Charlestown will again conduct a roadside cleanup on Saturday, April 23. The result will be clean, attractive roadsides. Residents who care will devote part of their day to helping keep Charlestown beautiful. Score one for the residents who care about this town. Within a few weeks litter will start to appear again and continue through the summer. Score one for the litterbugs who couldn’t care less about this town. So do we have a stalemate? Residents pick up the trash and drivers deposit trash on the roadways.
We cannot afford a stalemate. Every piece of litter is potentially a danger to wildlife. Every piece of litter is an eyesore. Every piece of litter says something about the careless habits of some drivers in Charlestown — and neighboring towns. It isn’t just about cosmetics or beautiful rural scenes. Littering says a lot about the people who live in or pass through Charlestown.
Michael Chambers
The banner image is a photo of thousands of nips collected from road side litter in recent months from South Kingstown’s and other roads. These are nips that didn’t get into our rivers, but imagine how many do. Thanks to Pick Up South Kingstown for the image and who report that over 8000 nips have been collected in South Kingstown by just 10 people. The number statewide by a few other groups is over 20,000 nips. If you pick up nips from local roadsides, please photograph them and share the photos with us at charlestowncitizens@gmail.com
Visit Our “Trash Talk” Page For More On The Litter Issue