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Litterville
26 March 2010
Is it just me, or is this town dirtier this spring than it's ever been? There's litter everywhere. And are there more people than ever not picking up after their dogs? Sure seems that way.
I know spring is usually a messy time, when the snow melts and exposes the debris that's been buried. And the gusts of spring often make the litter seem more ubiquitous by spreading it around. But that doesn't account for what seems to be a growing volume of garbage on the streets. This spring it just seems there's a lot more litter around than usual.
On the streets where I walk my dog, I've noticed more junk on the boulevard - usually coffee cups, pop cans, candy wrappers, high-energy drink cans and fast food containers. Most of these are dropped by irresponsible pre-teens and young teens going to and from the local schools. The older kids are likely the ones dropping the cigarette packages, wrappers and empty beer cans and bottles. I've seen them all doing it - I watched a gaggle of young girls toss empty take-out coffee cups off into the snowbanks along Third Street.
Susan was sitting in the car one afternoon this past week and watched a young woman sitting in the driver's seat of her car in front of Charley's Variety, roll down her window and throw the cellophane wrapper and foil from a cigarette pack out of the window before driving off. Susan was stunned at how thoughtless and inconsiderate that act was.
Smoking is already a dirty, smelly habit, and most smokers litter their butts on the street and sidewalk without a second thought. I am always shocked to watch a smoker empty his or her car ashtray on the street, as if it was socially acceptable to dump garbage on public property. And yet almost every parking lot has evidence of people doing it.
Last summer I saw a group of young men in their late teens-early twenties walking along First Street. Two of them casually tossed their empty water or pop bottles onto the Beer Store parking lot beside them. When I said they should pick up their garbage and not leave it for others, they simply laughed at me and continued on.
Then are the people who let their dogs crap anywhere - even on the sidewalk downtown - and don't pick up after them. Picking up after your dog isn't merely a social responsibility - it's basic hygiene. It's like washing your hands after using the toilet, or showering daily. Yet this spring I see mounds of dog feces all over the boulevards, lawns and sidewalks. That's a sad comment on the level of hygiene here.
Dog feces contain bacteria that gets into our water system. A single gram of dog crap contains 23 million bacteria and it can pose a serious health hazard to humans and other pets.
Dog feces can spread parasites like roundworms, whipworms, stomach worms, hookworms and tapeworms, too. Plus they can contain microscopic parasites like Coccidia, Giardia and Strongyloides. All of which can be spread to other pets and often to humans.
Dog feces are messy, smelly and nasty. And they're bad for the environment, too. Yet some people seem to prefer having it around over the simple act of picking it up. You really have to be either incredibly stupid or grossly antisocial not to clean up after your dog. Either way, you shouldn't be allowed to own a pet until you're mature enough to care for it.
Yes, you can be fined for not picking up after your dog. So it's not just a social responsibility: it's a law.
Maybe it's just me, but litter seems a growing problem and to me, Collingwood is looking more like an American or Mexican town than a Canadian one, with the growing amount of litter and dog feces around. Are we losing our civic pride?
I know spring is usually a messy time, when the snow melts and exposes the debris that's been buried. And the gusts of spring often make the litter seem more ubiquitous by spreading it around. But that doesn't account for what seems to be a growing volume of garbage on the streets. This spring it just seems there's a lot more litter around than usual.
On the streets where I walk my dog, I've noticed more junk on the boulevard - usually coffee cups, pop cans, candy wrappers, high-energy drink cans and fast food containers. Most of these are dropped by irresponsible pre-teens and young teens going to and from the local schools. The older kids are likely the ones dropping the cigarette packages, wrappers and empty beer cans and bottles. I've seen them all doing it - I watched a gaggle of young girls toss empty take-out coffee cups off into the snowbanks along Third Street.
Susan was sitting in the car one afternoon this past week and watched a young woman sitting in the driver's seat of her car in front of Charley's Variety, roll down her window and throw the cellophane wrapper and foil from a cigarette pack out of the window before driving off. Susan was stunned at how thoughtless and inconsiderate that act was.
Smoking is already a dirty, smelly habit, and most smokers litter their butts on the street and sidewalk without a second thought. I am always shocked to watch a smoker empty his or her car ashtray on the street, as if it was socially acceptable to dump garbage on public property. And yet almost every parking lot has evidence of people doing it.
Last summer I saw a group of young men in their late teens-early twenties walking along First Street. Two of them casually tossed their empty water or pop bottles onto the Beer Store parking lot beside them. When I said they should pick up their garbage and not leave it for others, they simply laughed at me and continued on.
Then are the people who let their dogs crap anywhere - even on the sidewalk downtown - and don't pick up after them. Picking up after your dog isn't merely a social responsibility - it's basic hygiene. It's like washing your hands after using the toilet, or showering daily. Yet this spring I see mounds of dog feces all over the boulevards, lawns and sidewalks. That's a sad comment on the level of hygiene here.
Dog feces contain bacteria that gets into our water system. A single gram of dog crap contains 23 million bacteria and it can pose a serious health hazard to humans and other pets.
Dog feces can spread parasites like roundworms, whipworms, stomach worms, hookworms and tapeworms, too. Plus they can contain microscopic parasites like Coccidia, Giardia and Strongyloides. All of which can be spread to other pets and often to humans.
Dog feces are messy, smelly and nasty. And they're bad for the environment, too. Yet some people seem to prefer having it around over the simple act of picking it up. You really have to be either incredibly stupid or grossly antisocial not to clean up after your dog. Either way, you shouldn't be allowed to own a pet until you're mature enough to care for it.
Yes, you can be fined for not picking up after your dog. So it's not just a social responsibility: it's a law.
Maybe it's just me, but litter seems a growing problem and to me, Collingwood is looking more like an American or Mexican town than a Canadian one, with the growing amount of litter and dog feces around. Are we losing our civic pride?
