Now that the temperatures have turned moderate and the snow has disappeared, litter is again highly visible in Morton.
There is only one reason we have litter — personal behavior.
Everyone who litters or allows it to build up in their neighborhood or business is part of the problem.
Keep America Beautiful says more than 51 billion pieces of litter land on U.S. roadways each year, amounting to 6,729 items per mile.
Progress has been made nationwide with litter.
Roadside litter has decreased by about 61 percent since 1969, but litter remains a persistent problem.
Litter cleanup, according to Keep America Beautiful, costs the U.S. almost $11.5 billion each year, with businesses paying $9.1 billion of the cost.
Homeowners bear a cost.
The 2009 National Visible Litter Survey and Litter Cost Study found that litter in a community decreases property values by 7 percent.
According to Keep America Beautiful, once litter is on the ground, it attracts more litter.
“A clean community, by contrast, can discourage littering and improve community appearance and quality of life,” the Keep America Beautiful Web site says.
That makes sense.
It may not be fair to ask responsible Mortonites to pick up the litter others carelessly or callously throw, but it is in the interest of those who pick it up.
Who else is going to make an impact on this issue?
As Keep America Beautiful says, “It takes just one person, one school, one business, one organization to positively impact the behavior of others in their community.”
In the past, organizations, like Boy Scouts, Morton Rotary and other ad hoc cleanup groups set aside a day to pick up litter scattered around the town. Some choose bike paths, others choose parks — either way, they are making a concerted effort to keep the area free of ugly, discarded items.
But, it does not take an organization to get things like this done. It can be a family event or a neighborhood event.
Each year, the Morton Times-News promotes litter pickup. We will publish submitted photos of Mortonites making an effort to clean the area this spring. Send pictures to mtn@timestoday.com.
