In the 1970s, television sets across the U.S. were flooded with the image of a crying Native American with litter strewn at his feet. That PSA was the beginning of the push to end littering. While the campaign was affective, and great strides have been made recently to reduce litter across the country, the sight of our disposable rubbish persists.
In Ville Platte, Hickory Street, between Lithcote Road and S. Chataignier, has become a mile-long receptacle for rubbish. The litter lining both sides of Hickory actually extends beyond S. Chataignier, on to S.E. Railroad. While the City of Ville Platte is strewn with litter, this particular stretch of road seems to collect the most.
Rocky Rider, police juror from Ward 1, said, “That road is one of the worst ones to keep up. We are going to clean it up soon, but we are backed up from all the storm damage. We have a committee that cleans it up. People are throwing iceboxes, microwaves and mattresses. They throw tires instead of paying the $2 disposal fee when having their tires changed. They take the old tires and throw them out on the road.”
Mr. Can Man, a Ville Platte recycling center, takes in aluminum, copper, brass, batteries and other non ferrous metals. “We take in a minimum of three tons per day from customers,” said owner, Ladonna Thibododeaux. Unfortunately, they do not take tires, paper or plastic.
Phyllis McGee, office manager of Evangeline Parish Solid Waste, says there is no charge for people to bring their tires to the city dump. They allow up to five tires per day per person. “The tires have to be manifested through the state and heavily regulated,” said McGee. “We collect them and bring them to a tire waste facility in Scott.” Solid Waste picks up appliances, furniture, carpets, branches, etc. Efforts are made to recycle as much as possible, with appliances being brought to Joubert’s Welding in Ville Platte.
Despite options for the public, some people still have the mindset that it is okay to litter. Rider said sometimes littering is done in retaliation. “If someone doesn’t like you, they take your trash and dump it, call authorities who will go investigate, find an envelope with the victim’s address, go to their house and ask why they dumped their trash.”
While littering can at times be malicious, often it’s a matter of carelessness. Many of us have littered without realizing it. Releasing balloons is littering. It can be a fun activity and even have sentimental value, but in reality, the balloons eventually come back down to Earth, tangling in power lines and trees, clogging drains, polluting oceans, lakes and rivers, and even, in many circumstances, killing animals. Other people who litter may think that someone else will pick up their trash. Some may feel rebellious and litter just to cause trouble for the establishment.
The nonprofit organization, Keep America Beautiful, published a report about littering. One study in the report claims youth tend to litter more than adults, but “adults 21-35 are three times more likely to litter than those over the age of 50, and two times more likely to litter than those aged 35-49.” Further in their report, survey data suggests “personal norms about littering have changed considerably over the last 50 years, from a moderate level of concern for littering in the 1950s, to a strong feeling of personal obligation to not litter by the early 2000s.”
Further research suggests sometimes, just seeing a littered street will attract more people to litter. This phenomenon is known as the broken window effect, which theorizes visual signs of crime and civil disorder encourage more and greater crime and disorder in an urban environment. Picture a building with a broken window. Next to it is a building with no broken windows. The next window to be broken is more likely to be on the building with the already-broken window.
Currently in the City of Ville Platte, the fine for littering is $200.00, plus court costs. Mayor Jennifer Vidrine said a litter abatement program is in progress, but not yet organized. In the meantime, the Evangeline Parish Chamber of Commerce has been organizing clean-up days in the City of Ville Platte, and that has spread to the other communities. Once a month, volunteers pitch in to clean up their cities and towns. Local businesses are also volunteering with these efforts. There are also trash receptacles throughout the towns.
While community organizers have made progress in curbing the rubbish problem, the greatest progress will come with education over time. This starts with children. Studies have shown when children are taught good habits, they will grow up to practice those good habits in their communities. In Japan, children help to clean their schools. They are taught to care about the environment around them and that littering is selfish and rude; they are taught to think about how their actions affect others. Children all over the U.S. are also being taught these lessons as a new wave of environmental consciousness, civic responsibility and community pride echoes the campaign of the 1970s.
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NANCY DUPLECHAIN Associate Editor