Thirteen tons.
It’s not an early version of the classic Tennessee Ernie Ford tune, but how much roadside garbage has been collected in Richmond County over the past two months.
That’s 13 tons too much.
County solid waste reports, given to the Richmond County Board of Commissioners each month by County Manager Bryan Land, detail how much trash is picked up and where.
Unlike other societal issues like drug abuse, littering is a very visible problem.
You see it every day.
Beer and soda bottles, fast food bags and containers, cigar and cigarette packages are strewn across the county’s roadways from irresponsible and uncaring residents who just toss their trash out the window.
Some even leave their vehicle garbage in parking lots, where trash cans are not far away.
Several individuals, businesses and local governments have made efforts in recent years to try and clean up along the roads and waterways. There are 27 Adopt-A-Highway groups in the county.
But, as Land told the RO last month, it’s going to require everyone working together to keep the county clean.
And it starts with each individual.
Instead of throwing your trash out the window, put it in the passenger-side floorboard, or the floor in the back and clean out your vehicle when you get home.
The county has several sites to take your garbage; you shouldn’t have to throw bags — or couches or pianos — out on some back road.
Parents, teach your kids by example. It shouldn’t be up to the county school system to educate the children that they shouldn’t litter.
In order for Richmond County to expand, growth can’t — and shouldn’t — be hampered by those who don’t care enough to take care of what’s already here.
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