Roscoe

To the editor:

I had the opportunity to attend a retirement dinner in Lancaster, PA last weekend, so 90% of my trip from Roscoe was in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Along the way, something became quite noticeable to me once I crossed the Roebling Bridge at Minisink Ford: there isn’t much litter in Pennsylvania. At least not on the roads that took me to Lancaster. Honestly, it is a stark and sad contrast to what we live with in New York State. Why is this?

Are people’s habits any different in New York? Do municipalities and private litter plucks do a better job of cleaning up? Are the penalties for littering stiffer in PA? Is enforcement better? I don’t have the answers to the above questions, but I do know that the litter situation in New York is worse than ever before. Really awful.

What to do? Litter tends to convey an impression to the traveling public that the stewards of any particular place don’t care much for their home turf. While litterplucks are important to remedy a litter situation, constant clean ups can produce a fatigue that curtails roadside work efforts.

Prevention methods are probably best to reduce littering - education at points of sale, PSAs in all media, especially social, about the negatives of littering and, yes, higher fines as a deterrent. Our municipal leaders should also speak with Pennsylvania officials to gain some insight as to why there is very little litter on the other side of our shared, but invisible border.