I currently reside on a very rural road in Prince Edward County. Like only-a-few-houses-on-the-entire-road rural.
Over the past couple evenings, I've started taking walks after dinner. And while its nice to take in the surroundings like flocks of geese, blue jays, and spring run-offs, it is impossible not to notice the maddening amount of trash that line the ditch, even way out here, 20 minutes from Picton.
The majority of what I see are beer cans, followed by the inevitable Tim Horton's cups.
The road that goes directly by our front door is used mainly by hunters, or poachers if you will. I have nothing against hunting (I think), but there is still steady traffic down the road to the plentiful woods that line it, and I don't think its legal to hunt much of anything in March.
Again, I know that not all hunters here are keen to simply roll down their window and toss out their trash or empties, but when you can't walk ten feet without coming across an empty Carling can, it is easy to put two and two together.
I admit to throwing trash out the window when I was a kid. Back then you don't think of it. Back then, you really didn't know any better and honestly, it seemed like a pretty common practice. I also used to pick my nose and eat it as a kid, and while I will never stop picking, I assure you I ceased the eating.
It is just sad to see trash in rural ditches. Though I suppose its everywhere these days. My problem is that the same people who complain about anything new coming to this area (see: WIND POWER) and maintain the "Not in my back yard!" mentality are very likely to be the same people who have no problem tossing their junk and trash wherever they feel like it. At least the cynic in me sees it that way.
Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be retracing my steps with a couple garbage bags. One for empties, one for the rest. Even though I'll only be living here for the next couple weeks before moving into the metropolis of Picton, it just seems like the right thing to do.
