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The saddest part is that NC used to be known "far and wide" for our beautiful roadside wildflowers, thanks to a former First Lady who made that her pet cause. People would even write in letters to the editor saying things like "I visited NC from [somewhere] and was astounded by the beauty of the highways, thanks to the wildflowers! It really stands out over other states". Now, apparently, garbage has replaced flowers as what people most remember this state for.
Is this the same first lady that got paid six digits for a NCSU postion that should be making half that, and also had a secretary to do the work for her?
Heck no. Lady Bird Johnson (President Lyndon Baines Johnson's wife) was the one responsible for wildflowers along the nation's highways.
Before your time, I guess.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PharmboyinNC
Is this the same first lady that got paid six digits for a NCSU postion that should be making half that, and also had a secretary to do the work for her?
Contact the Governor. She is so proud of our state, she says. Well, how does she feel when she sees the litter between Knightdale and the airport, along 540. It's disgusting.
best,
toodie
I found an entire website dedicated to explaining how to campaign for a bottle bill in one's state.
It also includes a list of all the humongous multinational companies that fight hard against them.
Count "big business" as one more factor in the continued trashing of NC roads.
It's very sad that those businesses spend kabillions in marketing to make sure we all think they're wonderful companies with wonderful products, when the reality is that they'll fight tooth and nail against private citizens trying to push a bottle bill that would greatly reduce litter on the roads.
Perhaps there should be much higher fines and greater enforcement for littering, especially for people driving pickups full of junk that flies everywhere. Virginia is known for its high fines for speeding. I'd like NC to be known for outrageous fines for littering.
Amen. Unfortunately, I doubt it will happen. Most people simply don't care enough to make it an issue, and the thoughtless losers who toss their cig butts and other trash anywhere and everywhere are seemingly breeding like cockroaches. The ghettoification of America continues - isn't it great?
In March it was referred to the Committee on Commerce. I guess it died there. The committee probably has members supported by BIG BUSINESS. (I don't know this for sure.)
Who knew there WAS a Litter Act of 2009?
Sounds like it's an issue that needs to be jumpstarted and more attention brought to it -- along with more pressure on our legislators to pass it.
I emailed the legislator and asked for an update and asked what we (citizens) could do to help.
Recycling incentives may be good for other reasons, but they won't get rid of the roadside trash. In California we got 5 cents for small containers and 10 cents for larger ones, but the trash was still unbelievable.
When cleaning the highway we found a lot of plastic bags, styrofoam and other packing material, cardboard, tire pieces, fast food trash, papers (school papers, receipts, delivery slips, bills), and clothing. We also found many bottles and cans that we could recycle (which we did!).
There was no time to bother with the cigarette butts.
We picked up cans and bottles at other times, too, and considered the money our entertainment budget (baseball and hockey games, hiking trips, etc.). One year we made about $1500. (The point of that is - a nickel or dime deposit does not keep people from throwing cans on the ground.)
People are more likely to pick up the cans if they can get a refund.
California is next door to a country where littering is more socially acceptable than it is here, so it would make sense they would have a bigger problem.
With a bottle bill AND greatly increased fines for littering in NC, the amount of trash here would be greatly reduced.
Last edited by lovebrentwood; 12-23-2009 at 07:19 AM..
When Hunt was governor, our roads were beautiful. I had clients who drove in from states north, south and west of us and they ALWAYS commented on how clean our highways and other roads were.
Love him or hate him (RIP) he deplored litter.
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