Apr 6, 2013 2 min read

I don’t want to beat a dead horse, because I’ve been reading plenty of litter-related letters to the editor lately. But, seriously, what? is it going to take for this issue to be addressed?

One of the aforementioned letters pleaded for the “litterbugs” to stop littering. That’s a valid point, but unfortunately the damage has already been done. And by “damage,” I’m not just referring to the heaps of trash along the roads; the reputations of our state, county and city have been marred because of the serious lack of action that has been taken to rectify this problem.

So, whose responsibility is it to clean up the trash? PennDOT. In fact, its website states, “Pennsylvania taxpayers pay millions of dollars annually for roadside cleanup. PennDOT spends this amount to clean up only the worst areas – roads with high litter accumulation.” Do they not think that the I-70/79 corridor has “high litter accumulation?” Come on!

In closing, I don’t want to be one of those people who just complain. If there was some sort of organized event for residents to help clean up this trash, I’d be more than willing to volunteer and participate, and I’m sure this goes for many of the other residents who have expressed their concern. Someone just needs to take the first step. Anyone?

Bill Ursic

Washington