Page County has a roadside litter problem.
Pick any highway or main road, such as business 340 between Alma landing and the entrance to the town of Stanley, and you’ll see plenty of evidence.
It’s sad to see such a beautiful valley trashed in this manner.
But what’s just as perplexing is the county’s compulsive need to continually mow areas alongside the highways and roads, and on bluffs above streams and ditches.
Without picking up the trash first.
This results in the shredding of fast-food bags, boxes, Styrofoam, and plastic. LOTS of plastic — plastic cups, plastic lids, plastic bottles, plastic egg cartons, plastic jars, plastic bottles, plastic straws, plastic utensils, plastic construction materials.
All of this plastic is picked up by the wind in Page County and lands in waterways, which eventually leads to destruction of aquatic habitats.
Frankly, tall grass and uncut weeds would look more appealing than trash, trash that would not end up shredded and scattered all over the place and in waterways.
There is something residents can do.
Adopt a highway and gather a crew for trash pick-up twice a year along a designated stretch of road.
Picking up trash with a large group of friends and neighbors sounds like a strange way to form bonds, but it happens.
And if the county is going to obsess over mowing and not removing trash, it’s up to citizens to pick up the slack. And litter.
Information about adopting a section of a roadway can be found on the VDOT website: Adopt-a-Highway | Virginia Department of Transportation.
David Rossé
Luray, Va.
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