Let’s Lose The Litter Every Day

To the Editor:

Early last week I traveled, via Route 7, to Canaan, Conn., passing through Kent and other lovely towns. My return was through Litchfield, Morris, and finally, from Woodbury to our home in Sandy Hook. It was a beautiful ride and I admired the landscapes and newly blossoming trees. It didn’t take long before I realized that something was different…no litter! During that long ride and passing through many towns, I came to realize that those roadways I traveled along were void of litter. When I drive through Sandy Hook, Newtown, and so many other local towns in Fairfield county, the roads are strewn with litter. Go to the post office on Commerce Road and other town roadways. Just look at the junk along the side of the roads.

The Newtown Lions Club has a “Lose the Litter Day”; however, this is only once yearly, and the volunteers can only cover a very small portion of our vast town.

It is time that we take our roadways and vistas seriously and think before tossing out the bottles, coffee and fast food containers, etc. Never a day goes by when my husband and I are picking up tossed trash from our road. It is so easy to keep debris in your vehicle and after arriving home, toss it into your refuse can. Perhaps parents and teachers should begin teaching children, at an early age, that it is not proper to litter our roadways, and when those children reach driving age and beyond, they might think twice before tossing trash onto our roads.

Please, neighbors, check the roadway in front of your home and make the effort to pick up any tossed trash. If each and every one of us take on this simple task, Newtown will be a more beautiful town. Let’s make “Lose the Litter Day” a daily occurrence.

Jean Sander

211 Walnut Tree Hill Road, Sandy Hook                      May 23, 2011