Do your part to help keep Va. beautiful

Now that the worst of winter is over, we find ourselves in the midst of visiting season as family and friends find their way across the Atlantic to visit us in our beautiful and at times, breathtaking part of Virginia.

The first of our visitors this year are Anita’s parents and we are eager to show them around the area and particularly some of the delightful countryside that we are lucky enough to live in.

A person’s perception of their surroundings is often closely linked to the events going on in their life at the time, so it should have come as no surprise to us that we were suddenly aware of the appalling levels of litter lying around everywhere we went. Not just in the ditches and hedgerows along every road, but often in huge unsightly piles in people’s back yards!

Why Virginians (as well as the many visitors who pass through the state) are seemingly unaware or even worse, unconcerned at the condition of their roadsides is beyond us. How can anyone living in such a beautiful landscape of majestic mountains, rolling fields and wooded vistas be content to see it disappear and even be destroyed under piles of trash?

Just take a look at the roadside next time you go out in the car and I bet you will be amazed and even concerned at the amount of litter scattered along the edges. It’s one of those things that tend to pass you by until you actually sit up and take notice, but notice you will, because once you see one piece of litter on the road you will start to see just how much more there is out there.

I was always of the impression that America kept its countryside clean, usually with the aid of Correctional Facility “volunteers,” but perhaps that is a thing of the past in these enlightened days.

Maybe litter clearing is an activity that only takes place during the tourist seasons of spring and summer when it is likely to have the most impact and that is why the accumulated rubbish is now so noticeable — or am I being too generous and naive here?

Of course the question comes to mind as to how that rubbish gets there in the first place? If we consult with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality we find that there are a number of potential reasons for the accumulation of litter and it is not all down to the beer-swilling, socially challenged, pick-up truck driving, “redneck,” you thought it was!

VDOT spends some $7million a year on cleaning up other people’s trash and that trash is harmful not just to the landscape, killing plants and polluting waterways, but to the birds, animals and fish that live in it. Some 2,500 accidents a year are caused by litter in the roads and let’s face it, who wants to live in an area that looks like it is being used as a local dump? Litter attracts litter and if nothing is done to remove it; the neighborhood soon goes downhill and becomes both unsightly and unsavory.

It is such a shame that we “the caretakers” of this beautiful land do not take more care of it. All it needs is a little more thought before discarding that empty bottle/can/wrapper etc. and if it helps to bring it closer to mind, just remember that there is a $1,000 fine for littering from a vehicle. Enjoy the countryside while you can; it’s yours to look after and your responsibility to preserve for future generations to come.

Hasbury’s column runs every other Wednesday. Carl Stafford returns next week.