Letter: Maybe public shaming will work on litter problem

Published 12:00 am Sunday, March 14, 2021

The roadways in our county are ugly with litter. Dumping your garbage out the car window is rude, inconsiderate, unhealthy and illegal. Who does this to their neighbors?

The programs outlined in the Salisbury Post article “Ask Us” on March 2 states the county collected 240,000 pounds (120 tons) of litter last year, and still our roadways are full of trash! If someone is “caught in the act of littering” they are issued a “citation.” What is that? And who ever gets caught?

Here’s my suggestion: Test some of the litter for DNA (e.g. food bags, drink cups). Make a big publicity campaign letting everyone know through social and print media that litterbugs will be charged and fined — make it a big amount ($1,000). Then, when a culprit’s DNA is identified, arrest them, fine them and publicize it widely, with photos.

Citations clearly don’t work. Maybe public shaming will.

— Edward Hanson-Kelly

Salisbury