To the Editor,

First, congratulations to those local community groups and private individuals that volunteer their time and efforts to clean up roadside litter. It is heartening to see in local media and when travelling the roads. 
What is disheartening, is that we have to do this at all in 2021.

Like many, I have done roadside cleanups, most recently on Kennisis Lake Road. Having done the same stretch over a few consecutive years I would note that each year we collected as much, or more, than we had the previous year. What does that say?
The group did both sides of an eight kilometre stretch, for a collective total of sixteen kilometres. We always collected around 1,000 beer cans/bottles and various fast food packaging items, some from restaurants that were at least one and a half hours away! There were also some choice items like mattresses, stoves and other odds and ends. The most prolific item? Cigarette butts!

Last April on the Ritchie Falls Road, I picked up 34 beer cans along a stretch of about a third of a kilometre. There was, of course, other litter as well.
Perhaps that’s enough said. This summer is a similar story so far. To ask why this is happening would be a moot point. The question to me is, what can we do about it? Wherein lies the answer?

Greg Roe
Lochlin
Concerned Citizens of Haliburton County
info@concernedcitizenshc.ca