New Year, No Litter!

A few weeks ago, I was working with a group of young adults on one of the Land Trust properties when a truck stopped, rolled down his window and literally threw garbage right where we were standing, laughed and sped off. The horrible thing about this story is that it’s not just a one time thing…we pick up mountains of trash from this area to get it out of the ditches and keep it from going into the creeks and waterways of southern Mississippi.

Let’s all make a New Year’s resolution to stop littering! Let’s work together to have a nice clean place to take a nature walk or go fishing without having to hook an old tire or plastic water bottle.

Litter in Turkey Creek

Deliberate littering, illegal dumping and non-deliberate actions such as having a piece of paper blow out of your car are all to blame for contaminating our environment. It is important to acknowledge bad behavior, and put a stop to it! There is a person behind every piece of debris we find in our waterways, from the cigarette butts, bags, food wrappers, caps, lids, glass bottles, beverage cans, cups, plates, forks, knives, spoons, straws and stirrers to the fast food containers.

Litter not only distracts from the beauty of our green and blue spaces, but it is hazardous for our drinking water, detrimental to our recreational areas and lethal for our pets and wildlife! Let’s all please remember to deposit trash in receptacles, recycle whenever we can, and remember that when we do, we’re doing our part for our family, friends, neighbors, pets and wildlife.

Some of the tires removed from Turkey Creek