litter, litter, everywhere.
CONNIE WIGGINS

Everywhere I go lately I see litter — litter on our roadsides, in parking lots, on interstate ramps and blowing across my windshield.
A recent Litter Index conducted by Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful confirms litter continues to be a problem in our community.
Litter does more than make our community unsightly. According to research by George Kelling, a nationally recognized criminologist, an increase in litter and graffiti sends the message that no one cares. People begin to feel unsafe, more serious crimes occur and communities fall into social and economic decline.
At work, litter comes from overfilling trash bins, leaving trash on loading docks and not covering or securing loads on trucks which is the cause of hundreds of accidents. At home, litter comes from not tying garbage bags or from overfilling trash cans. In playgrounds and parks, children are cut from soda cans tossed on the ground. Fish and birds are caught in trash, cut or infected and sometimes die. When cigarette butts are tossed on our roadsides or dumped in parking lots, they can end up in our rivers and streams. Once the cigarette butts enter the water, they quickly leach harmful toxins into our water supply.
No one likes to live where there is litter. Neighborhoods with litter usually have higher crime rates, lower property values and less pride. The problem feeds on itself; litter attracts more litter. When someone discards an old washing machine in the woods or on a vacant lot, others soon add to the rubbish, and an illegal dumpsite is born.
Litter hurts our wallets. Every year, hundreds of thousands of tax dollars are spent cleaning up trash in Gwinnett County. Inmates are used to collect litter, but tax dollars are needed to pay for county employees to supervise the inmates, county equipment and landfill fees. Houses for sale in littered neighborhoods usually don’t bring the best prices, and can lower property values by as much as 15 percent.
In Gwinnett, you can be fined up to $1,200 for littering. Many people are unaware that a person tossing a fast food bag or cigarette butt could face charges.
But just as people cause litter, people can stop it. People who are aware of the dangers of litter often make an effort to put their trash in the correct place. Get involved. Community cleanups such as Adopt-A-Road or Take Pride in Gwinnett encourage people to take ownership and pride in our community and keep it safe and clean.
How can we help? Put household garbage in secured bags or cans, use litter bags in vehicles and cover and secure every load we transport. Teach others the proper way to dispose of trash, ask neighbors to help clean a public area, adopt a road and keep dumpsters and loading docks clean.
Gwinnett County—where we live, work and play—is at a crossroads: If we follow our current path, litter will continue to increase, and Kelling’s theory of community decline will become our reality. If we choose to show community pride by putting litter in its proper place, we will have a safer, healthier, cleaner and more livable Gwinnett.
The good news is that litter is a problem that can be solved. The solution and Gwinnett’s future is in each of our hands!