Today I worked on a small section of route 209 just outside of Nesquehoning. With the recovering pup at home I did not want to go too far from the house and I didn't want to be out too long. In the past this portion of 209 was regularly cleaned by inmates from the local prison. Not sure why they no longer clean this area, but it was probably either budget or safety concerns which ended this practice. In recent years there have been a number of fatal accidents along this section and it really isn't the safest place to do a clean up. I am sick of seeing all the trash on the roadsides leaving town, so I think I am going to continue working on this area at least for awhile. I set my goal at filling two bags and I was off collecting.
Like many roadsides it was bottle after bottle, can after can and the occasional roadkill. In this photo you can see all three.
From the road I could see a lot of trash down this steep slope. I worked my way down and found the safest routes to each piece I could see.
More pull tabs today. It seems the inmates only cleaned what was right next to the road and never ventured down the side. Inside this can was a rolled up Wise chip bag. I tried to find a date on it, but there was none I could see.
This was the second bag of the day, most of which came from the slope. The bottles and cans I gathered by the bag filled it and part of my backpack too.
With the second bag filled I headed back to where I left the first. If you can see my car in the background you can tell how small of an area I worked on and I really thought two bags was a lot for such a small area. You can also see other trash items still left behind. I was working on aluminum, plastics, styrofoam and glass, items like paper products I leave behind because they will biodegrade in my lifetime.
This was it, two full bags. I think this shows that it isn't just a handful of people that litter out of their cars, it's a lot that do. Something has to change in our society. All of this trash goes somewhere and it is better if it is recycled than left in our environment. From what I have seen with litter and other environmental issues, things are not getting better, but they should be.
You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project at: gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash
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