One thing that really bothers me is people who litter. I just don't see a reason for it. I see it on the road, I see it in parks where there are trash cans every X distance. Hell, people throw trash into my yard sometimes. What really bothers me is people who bring things down to the lake/river/ocean and then just leave it behind. Litter bugs are ruining it for the rest of us.
I've been bringing a bag or two with me and picking up after others. Most times, I'm not even making a dent in things, but I figure every bit helps. I also feel like I did something positive for everybody, which is nice.
Here is what I brought out yesterday. It took me a very minimal time to pick this up, and I had to go back to my car *anyhow* so carrying it out wasn't a hardship.
We have:
Two five gallon buckets (cracked)
A broken fishing pole
a few hundred yards of fishing line
A ripped cast net
several fishing lures, hooks, sinkers, etc.
I'll use the lead weights off of the cast net to make fishing weights or jig heads; re-use any of the fishing tackle that's worth using; re-use the handles off of the buckets (they rust out and/or the plastic handle breaks) and dispose of all of the rest of the junk as appropriate (recycling, trash, etc.)
Feel free to post a picture of what you haul out next time you're fishing/hiking/boating/whatever.
If everyone tried to follow the Boy Scout advice of leaving a place better than they found it this would be less of a problem, good on you! Littering is a sure sign of low intelligence in my book.
You think that is bad, you should try visiting some of the cities these days. Different problem, same attitude.
pheller
UltimaDork
6/19/23 6:02 p.m.
I call it litter karma.
We all have unknowingly littered at some point. Whether it's something blowing out of a truck bed, falling off a car, forgetting something at a park, or simply blowing away on a windy day.
Cleaning up other people's stuff is "karma" for hopefully somewhere, someday, someone cleaning up after us.
In reply to pheller :
Probably true, but some people do it deliberately. I really don't like those people.
Sons of Smokey is a great non-profit focused on trash cleanup: https://www.sonsofsmokey.com/mission. It was started by the guy who started the Gambler 500 to further that events goal of cleaning up trails. The website suuuucks but the app is legit. Free to use and folks mark trash and stuff they see if they can't get it themselves.
I'm constantly picking up trash that is laying around. Walking kids to school and find soda bottle at the curb, etc.
My wife has joked that she has only ever seen people from Colorado do this, AND she thinks that she has seen just about everyone she knows from Colorado do this.
My home state of West Virginia is litter central. I've never seen so much trash in my life. I don't understand it.
That's life, unfortunately. My family makes several day trips with the kids and grandkids through the Francis Marion NF to do a little exploring and cooking out along the Santee River. We usually come out with a couple of bags of trash without even trying. You would think that the people that enjoy spending time in the forest wouldn't trash it, but that's frequently not the case.
My eldest son and his Cub Scout Den participate in the Francis Marion NF forest cleanup day every year. It's amazing how much trash a group of kids can pick up in a day. They always manage to fill up at least one truck and one of my trailers every year.
In reply to Toyman! :
That is a LOT of trash! Great job!
