Dear Source:
It's no secret to many that I'm an opinionated senior citizen who doesn't mince words. The subject of LITTER has been raised many times over the years and I'd like to bring it up again. I'm in the process as usual of weedwhacking my property which is on a main road. Nothing has grown too high but it's a tough job nonetheless and as long as I fortify myself with a good dose of ibuprofen beforehand I do enjoy the job. The smell of the cut grass is pleasurable and I whack about in a "Zen" frame of mind knowing how nice it will be to look out later and see a job well done.
So why do I have to keep stopping to pick up juice boxes, candy wrappers and beer bottles which have been tossed out by people who are too damned lazy and too damned ignorant to properly dispose of them? When I see such garbage out there on a regular day I pick it up but when I'm weedwhacking, I find it hidden in the long grass and the bush. Some of the local school-children wait for the school bus, drink their boxed juices and then just toss them on the ground. People drive by and toss empty food containers and bottles out of their vehicles.
I've just picked up five empty bottled beers (brands which I don't sell here,) barely managed to sideswipe the weedwhacker to avoid a smashed beer bottle whose broken glass could have been weedwhacker-twirled and caused me a nasty injury, four empty juice containers and two "breakfast bars" wrappers in the area where the schoolchildren await the bus. And I haven't even gone out onto the roadside yet.
I beg people to please respect the environment and teach your children the same. I really don't think that too many realize that we have a truly pristine and clear air environment here when compared to many other places in the world. The world environment is so rapidly deteriorating and the Virgin Islands is majorly far behind in environmental protection which other islands and communities and countries have adopted over the past 20 years.
Please dispose of your garbage properly and please teach your children likewise.
Anna Clarke
St. Thomas
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