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Resident picks up bags of trash near Creston's Tim Hortons and Ramada

I carry a bag with me but on this day my measly plastic grocery bag hardly held a quarter of the “bounty” I could have collected...

To the Editor:

We, in our household, are composters, conservers, recyclers, reusers and refunders. We’re also concerned about our health, so we walk every day. In addition to reaping the benefits of healthy bone density and fresh air, the walks also garner us bags and bags of garbage.

Recently I was walking on Highway 3, just in front of the Ramada Hotel, and I spied some detritus on the north side of the road, which is a popular “rest stop” for semis. I carry a bag with me every day but on this day my measly one little plastic grocery bag hardly held a quarter of the “bounty” I could have collected. I couldn’t in all conscience leave it there until May or June for the Dash for Trash to collect. (By the way, kudos to the Columbia Brewery and Town of Creston for organizing the annual drive to clean up our fair town, but once a year isn’t quite enough).

A good percentage of the garbage is from Tim Hortons — I pick up their cups, wrappers and bags daily. What I don’t get is why their customers go through the drive-thru, only to discard said cups, wrappers and bags just minutes down the road. Are they in such a rush that they can’t sit down in the store to consume their food?

Although Tim Hortons’ drive-thru is efficient without impacting local and highway traffic, it lacks the parking to accommodate semis and other large vehicular traffic. And so the drivers park across Northwest Boulevard so they can hop over for their cup of joe. Ergo, more detritus on the space near the Town of Creston welcome sign.

Perhaps a partial solution would be for the town to install litter barrels in each of these prime trucker stops. I have no idea if that would work but, who knows, people might use one if it was there.

Would the litterbugs of the world be incensed if others discarded garbage on their lawns or would they feel right at home? What would our community look like in a few years if the garbage were allowed to accumulate? Would the litterbugs be the first to condemn the town as a dump? Can it be so difficult to save your garbage for the next bin or even, heaven forbid, your own garbage can?

In a better world, there would be many others joining me in keeping our community clean and attractive. In a perfect world, that wouldn’t be necessary as people wouldn’t litter in the first place. (I don’t, by any means, assume there aren’t others out there picking up — this is for those whose consciences haven’t kicked in yet!)

Debby Schurer

Creston