Aren’t you tired of seeing trash on roadways, waterways or around your neighborhood?
Throwing trash on the ground or disposing of hazardous waste improperly not only detracts from the beauty of your community, it also damages the environment. The negative effects of downstream littering and inappropriate waste disposal are monumental:
- Most of the litter found today comes from food packaging.
- Littering of non-biodegradable plastics can be dangerous to domestic animals and wildlife.
- Significant amounts of litter in your neighborhood decreases property values by almost 10%.
- Ridding cities and neighborhoods of litter is also expensive. It costs city and state governments millions of dollars each year to address this problem.
- Piles of trash and waste are breeding grounds for disease and bacteria. This could have indirect negative health impacts on your loved ones and your community.
Within the past couple decades, the littering epidemic has grown exponentially with approximately 9 million tons of plastic waste being dumped in oceans annually. This combined with the littering of hazardous waste items such as electronics, cleaning products, and batteries have numerous detrimental effects on human, animal, and plant health.
If you were wondering how you can help make difference, here are some easy steps you can take:
- Attend community trash cleanups either around your neighborhood, in national parks, or on the beach. This is a wonderful way to spend time with friends and family or get to know fellow community members.
- Educate yourself and others on where the nearest hazardous waste disposal site is located. Your community or city governments will have specific locations to handle disposal of old electronics and toxic cleaning solutions. (Link RIVCO Waste) Consult these authorities if you have any questions about objects and items that you are unsure about.
- Kindly remind others against littering whenever you see it. If you see trash in public that can be safely disposed of, throw it away. Your community will appreciate it!
