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By: Erin Smith
Some Bladen County roadsides and parking areas are looking a little less than neat lately. Some residents would like to see a cleaner neater county with a little less litter in parking lots and along roadsides.
One store manager at the Dublin Dollar General said she policies her store’s parking lot each morning. However, a photograph sent to www.bladenonline.com, shows that even with her diligence, the parking area sometimes gets cluttered with shopping carts and litter. The manager of the store says there is little she can do to control what her customers do in terms of the parking area.
In Elizabethtown, a plastic bag found its way onto South Poplar as did a styrofoam drinking cup.
More and more litter is finding its way onto roadsides throughout the county. Along the roadside shoulders around the county one is likely to see such things as plastic bottles, drinking cups, plastic bags and paper.
The manager of the Dublin Dollar General says she can’t control what her customers do in terms of the parking area.
Dublin Mayor Horace Waytt said that the town encourages folks to put litter in its proper place.
“We would like to encourage everyone to dispose of trash properly, not throw it out of the car window,” said Wyatt.
He added that when you are in a parking lot, again, dispose of any trash in the proper receptacles, not beside the car.
“We would like to encourage our business owners to look at their property and be sure that it is kept clean,” said Wyatt.
Elizabethtown Mayor Sylvia Campbell said that in Elizabethtown trash receptacles are made available throughout the town so residents can place litter in its proper place.
“One person makes a ton of difference,” said Campbell.
She added that Public Works Director Pat DeVane and his staff work diligently to keep Elizabethtown looking good and keeping litter picked up.
Campbell said if each person would do their part and take the time to dispose of litter properly, it would make a huge difference for all concerned.
Sondra Guyton, president of Keep Bladen Beautiful, agreed with both Wyatt and Campbell.
“Bladen County is a beautiful place to live and visit. We want to keep it that way and put litter where it belongs and not on the roadside. We should all do our part to keep Bladen beautiful,” said Guyton.
Guyton added that in 2013 alone, NC Department of Transportation officials spent $16 million to remove seven million pounds of roadside litter in the state and the estimated cost of litter pick up is about 30 cents per piece of litter.
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