HAMLET – “Litterbug, litterbug fly away home,
Your house is on fire and your children are gone.”
Perhaps that is a loose explanation as to the situation on a daily basis for some of the travelers who use Old Laurinburg Road east of Hamlet in traversing back and forth to their respective destinations – they are all experiencing emergencies of some type and simply don’t have time to wait till they get to their own trashcans to dispose of their personal waste material on their own property.
But wait! The time and energy required to lower the window and toss trash from a moving vehicle is really not much less than what is needed to just wait and throw it in one’s own garbage container once an arrival has been made. So why do it?
Despite the clear message denoted by the readily obvious “$1000 fine for littering” sign that stands watch at the beginning of the thoroughfare off of East 74 Business Highway, debris is strewn all along this section of road every day.
I know this to be true because I am one of at least three individuals who attempt, practically every day, to pick up after those miscreants who either cannot wait until they make it to their own trash cans or for some reason feel compelled to cast their unwanted mess out onto the side of the road for … what? Where do they think it will go, and how, and at what cost to others?
Why do people do such a stupid thing? No home training? No common sense? Total disregard for what others then have to view all along the route? All of the above?
But it is analogous to trying to stop the oncoming waves of the ocean.
James Gulledge and Ozie Felder are two volunteers who, totally of their own accord and volition, patrol and police the mile or so stretch of Old Laurinburg Road as it verges off of Highway 74 and leads to routes winding towards either Highway 177 North or Laurel Hill, or points in between. Now, to my knowledge, neither James nor Ozie cares much about who it is that continues to litter the roadway, so they don’t go to the trouble of examining the trash for clues – but I do!
Here is what is now happening. The Richmond County Board of Commissioners has gone on record as focusing on this nuisance-behavior of littering along our roadways. County Manager Bryan Land reported that over nine tons of such trash were collected from only a few targeted roadways during the month of April. Commissioner Jimmy Capps was adamant in his contention that much more should be done to prevent such mindless conduct.
Well, the law is now involved, cases are being pursued, and, thankfully, the culprits are actually making it easier to be identified. For example, there is another road within a mile of 74 and the Old Laurinburg Road that, due to the construction and configuration of the by-pass, has now been rendered a dead end with no outlets whatsoever. Some people evidently see this as an opportune route to their own personal dumping grounds – even though the property being usurped for such illegal usage is someone else’s private land.
A Dodge pick-up truck with a full load of trash was recently seen turning down this road, only to return (just one way in or out, remember) ten minutes later with, miraculously, none of the previously-viewed garbage in his possession. Hmmm … wonder where it all went? Well, neighbors were more observant than the litterbug thought and, with tag number in hand, contacted the Sheriff’s Department; the case is now under active investigation.
On Old Laurinburg Road itself, some of us are now piecing together (literally, I might add) the illicitly tossed trash to generate a set of evidentiary items that will be used to help identify and subsequently prosecute those who continue to be so inconsiderate as to litter the road.
Alas, people are creatures of habit and their patterns of behavior are relatively simple to discern and ascertain. We have narrowed the focus to certain individuals who frequent the different fast-food restaurants on a regular basis.
And just how do we know what they do, how they do it, when they do it, and what they are eating and drinking as they do it? Because they provide us with all of the evidence necessary to easily determine such happenings.
Here is how stupid people can be. One of the litterbugs has – inadvertently, I would certainly hope – provided us with her name, address, social security number, phone number, and last four digits of her credit card.
Another person seems to have a penchant for “Fruit Chews” – the wrappers, along with an occasional complete and still fully wrapped candy (guess the litterbug may not care for certain flavors and would prefer to just waste that money than to save them for kids, etc.) are predictably found along one particular stretch (eastbound side) of the road. Sadly, it may well be that these candies are purchased individually and are thus purposely selected, then paid for, only to just be thrown out of the window for others to have to worry with. Further, these wrappers are also invariably thrown out at about the same spot at about the same time on most afternoons.
Some of the litterbugs travel substantial distances before choosing to drop their papers along this stretch of road, seemingly. Receipts from automotive parts supply stores as far apart as Maxton and Monroe were collected over the last few weeks, all, again, with the last four digits of the credit card and other possibly useful information just lying there for us to pick up.
Think how wasteful littering is on multiple levels. A purchase is made with someone’s money, but not utilized to the optimal level. Money wasted. Then, rather than simply continuing to partake of whatever it is that was bought until the supply is truly fully consumed (most bottles have re-sealable caps that are relatively simple to operate), the contents are disposed of in such a way as to benefit no one and, arguably, negatively impacting everyone. There is no opportunity to recycle that which could be used again in some positive way. Most people find it a less than pleasant view when looking at garbage along the roadside; this is thus a waste of what might otherwise be a pleasant scene.
It is not unusual to find numerous bottles of various beverages (e.g., water, beer, sodas, etc.) with a substantial amount of drink still in them. It would seem that a threat of a $1000 fine evidently does little to phase people who can seemingly afford to spend real money on an item, only to then just toss it out before even finishing a complete consumption of the contents. Indeed, a full and never opened bottle of Mountain Dew was collected just last Friday, and full bottles of water are found along the road on a daily basis.
Burger King, Wendy’s, BoJangles, McDonald’s, and Dairy Queen have all lost a significant amount of their packaging supplies along this particular route, but, since these litterbugs are sufficiently thoughtful as to leave us their receipts (complete with exact time of purchase, items bought, amount paid, person who processed their order, and the last four digits of their swipe card), we are gradually determining who does what and when so that we can dutifully return the various wrappers, cups, bags, etc. to their rightful owners. Of course, in the spirit of reciprocity and respect for your time, we won’t bother you with a courtesy call; we plan to just “deposit” the items in the same manner as they were initially left for us to find: tossing the trash into the yards of those who chose to indulge in that exact same exercise previously, thus unlawfully and rudely littering the yards of others and the public roadways.
So, fear not, all you litterbugs along Old Laurinburg Road and surrounding areas. As long as you continue to provide us with your personal information via your receipts and related tossed materials, we are gradually determining exactly who you are, where you work, your hours of “operation,” and where you live. And when we do gather sufficient information to identify you, your “property” will be returned to you in the manner that you yourself have demonstrated to be your preferred mode of disposal.
