Teaberry Road in Roan Mountain is not a dumpster, although in one particular area it can certainly look like one. Dead animals, household garbage, old tires, and other items have been dumped at the end of the road during the winter months, making it an unsightly mess. The same is true of the Blue Hole on Stoney Creek, and the Tweetsie Trail, which is littered with fast food wrappers and containers.
The City also has its share of unsightly dump sites, among them E. Cottage Ave., where over the past month, household furniture has been dumped by the side of the street for the City to pick up. It took two pickups for the City to get all the refuse, and just days ago another mattress was disposed of on the street.
Carter County Beautiful in recent weeks has taken on the chore of cleaning up garbage and debris left at the Blue Hole, and this weekend will have a crew out picking up garbage on the Tweetsie Rail. However, it’s up to everyone to change our dirty reputation.
Seeing the garbage others leave behind is embarrassing, but apparently not embarrassing enough to drive our elected officials to take the dramatic steps necessary to keep our roads and streets clean, or to motivate more residents to stop littering and report illegal dumping in their neighborhoods.
Most cities and towns have a hard time with grime, but it seems that in Carter County and Elizabethton, we have more and more people, who have less and less pride and dump more and more of their garbage on others. Plastic bags and bottles, Styrofoam cups, and assorted other detritus blight roadsides, streets, gutters, and yards — even in the downtown area. That’s not what we want visitors to our town to remember about Elizabethton or Carter County.
Changing the public’s mindset is crucial to the success of any anti-litter campaign, and Keep Carter County Beautiful does a good job of not only picking up after those who litter, but spreading the message of anti-littering. The organization late last month announced they had been awarded a grant to purchase recycling bins to place throughout the area to encourage more recycling. But, that won’t do any good if people don’t use them.
The public needs to be more vigilant and when they see someone littering, report it. We need to make cleaning our county and city a priority.
It’s not just up to our county and city officials to keep our communities clean. Everyone living here has a stake in the city and county’s cleanliness, and we should all take part in protecting it.
Research shows people litter for three main reasons. First, they feel no sense of ownership for a property, even a public park. Second, they think someone else will clean up after them. Third, they see litter already accumulated and think a little more will not matter. What is the message for community groups? Clean up the neighborhood and then maintain a litter-free environment with individual and group efforts and continuing community education.
If residents or visitors see litter on the ground — and it’s not, say, a discarded needle or half-eaten hotdog — they should pick it up and toss it in the nearest trash can. If there isn’t a can nearby, they can call City Council to lobby for additional trash receptacles.
For more serious dumping problems, residents can be helpful as eyes and ears for bad behavior. If residents and visitors see someone dumping, they can call 911 to report any major risks. If they see garbage after it’s been dumped, call city and county officials. Keep following up until the garbage is removed.
Working together can make a difference in our neighborhoods and our city. Your highly visible work not only will boost neighborhood pride, but help fight crime. Time and time again, in cities across our nation, neighborhood crime has dropped after cleanup and beautification efforts. A litter-free flower bed is not just a pretty sight, it is a sign of a community that cares.
It’s time we begin taking pride in where we live, and show it by keeping our communities, roadsides, and streets clean.