Unfettered Letters

Why do you litter?

Thanks to MODOT workers, M291/I470 in Lee’s Summit is looking so much better. The trash pickers have been working this stretch of highway for the last week or two. I just wish they could pick up more often.

Our neighborhood participates in the Adopt-A-Highway program twice a year. In addition, I pick up trash along our outer road whenever I can. I cannot believe the amount of fast food trash, beverage containers (glass, cans and plastic) and plastic shopping bags. Perhaps a tax could be added to these items to help pay for their removal.

I am curious about two things: Don’t parents and schools teach kids not to litter anymore? And why do people toss their trash out onto our roads? Please, I would like to hear from actual litterbugs.

Liz Carmichael
Lee’s Summit

Help keep playground trash-free

We are disappointed at the amount of trash that has collected on our playground at Gladstone Academy (335 N. Elmwood). Every day more and more trash is being littered on our streets and blown into the playground that we play on. This makes us feel embarrassed about what visitors may think of the outside of our school.

We will do our part to keep our playground clean by not littering and picking up trash every day during recess, but we still need your help. Things you can do to help us is to not litter and start recycling bottles, paper, and cans.

Together we can keep our playground clean and show that we care for our school and the environment.

First-grade students of Gladstone Academy
Kansas City

One more time: Pick up trash

I couldn’t agree more with David Dvorak (3/17, Letters, “Pick up your trash”). Can you imagine how much cleaner the city would be if all drivers had litter bags in their cars?

Take that a step further and pick up the trash around your lot. Use the trash cans at the bus stops instead of the ground. It’s really not that difficult.

Makes me wonder what these people’s houses look like. Disgusting thought.

Barb Thompson
Kansas City

Pick up your trash

As spring approaches, I eagerly anticipate being outside more often. However, the snow has melted away, revealing a repulsive layer of garbage. I live in a nice neighborhood, but it’s amazing how a few lazy slobs can ruin everything.
Does the rest of the world still use the term “lazy American?” I can see why. How inconsiderate are you to carelessly toss your garbage into the street or another neighbor’s yard? Is it so difficult to hold onto that trash for a couple of extra minutes until you get home? Is it too strenuous to hoist that fast food bag out of your vehicle and place it in the garbage?
If my tone seems harsh, it is completely intentional. I hope all the lazy slobs out there read this and either get offended or ashamed, because those seem to be the only two ways to stir up a reaction anymore.
David Dvorak
Kansas City

Trash fines ludicrous

The idea of issuing tickets to homeowners who have more than two bags of trash in front of their house is insane (2/12, Local, “Next: Fines for trash?”).

Here’s why: You put out one legal bag of trash and leave for the office at 7 a.m. Then someone else comes by and puts two or three more illegal bags of trash next to yours before the trash truck shows up at 9 a.m. You didn’t commit the “crime,” but you get the ticket and a fine anyway. That’s crazy.

What recourse do you have? Homeowners are going to be victimized by this poorly conceived ordinance, and the anonymous trash criminals will go free. Is the City Council really so clueless that they can’t see this coming?

The solution is simple: Include penalties for anyone who puts trash bags out in front of a house other than their own.

George Costello
Kansas City

Reason for trash on the Mall in D.C.

Lee Larson (1/26, Letters) is concerned about all the trash left scattered over the Mall in Washington after President Obama’s inauguration last week. I was there and was also offended by the trash as I watched it grow around me.

I was also present down by the Lincoln Memorial on that August day in 1963 when Martin Luther King was telling about his dream. On that occasion, once containers were filled, people neatly stacked their discards right by the can and the Mall remained very neat.

But this time, when I had wrappers to dump, I discovered that all trash cans had been removed from the Mall. I’m sure security dictated their removal because such containers have been used to cache explosive devices, which could have ruined the day.

Donald E. Schomacker
Kansas City

Trashing the Mall

What kind of Americans go to the Mall in Washington to celebrate the inauguration of a new President and then leave tons of their trash behind?

I guess it is the same “cradle to grave” Americans who think someone else should pay for their health care, someone else should pay for their college education, someone else should bail them out of their home mortgage and, yes, someone else should pick up their garbage.

Lee Larson
Prairie Village

Those pesky sweet gum trees

Evelyn Cochran (1/3, Letters) only touched the tip of the iceberg in writing about sweet gum trees. Granted, their nasty little spiny balls are a pain to rake up, and they clog the sewers. Did you ever think, like I do, that whoever made the decision to plant all these trees had to have a college degree? Duh.

In my neighborhood, those trees have completely torn up the sidewalks. Some of the pieces of sidewalk are a foot high. The tree roots destroy the curbs. Kids can’t ride bikes on these sidewalks.

But here’s the real rub. If the city comes and replaces the sidewalks, the homeowner has to “pay” for the sidewalks the city destroyed with their sweet gum trees.

When the city came in my neighborhood and planted those trees, as soon as they went around the corner my husband went out and pulled the tree out of our parkway. Today we have a nice flat sidewalk, while all the others are a mess.

Carol Luteran
Kansas City

Keep trash pickup free in KC

I want to thank Yael T. Abouhalkah for his column about charging Kansas City residents for trash pickup (12/25, Opinion, “KC residents already pick up the tab for trash”).

I remember well in 1970 when we citizens were asked to vote for increasing the earnings tax half a percent and then telling us if passed, we would never have to pay for trash pickup again and would also receive free trash bags delivered to our homes. As a newlywed, I debated long and hard about voting for a tax increase that would directly affect my take-home pay. I came to the conclusion that it was necessary, so I voted “yes.”

I don’t recall how long the free trash bags were delivered, but after they were discontinued, I knew that somewhere down the road they would also try to discontinue free trash pickup. It seems that time has now come.

I pay my earning tax based on the city’s promise, and I don’t believe in double taxation for the same service. Please keep this issue in front of the public so no one forgets.

Mary Langseth
Kansas City

Thrift stores save money, landfill space

The Star’s article “Green execs sprout up,” (12/23, Business) did a great job reporting on organizations increasingly realizing the importance of “going green.” Chief sustainability officers will continue to play a vital role not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it can be profitable as well.

One vital avenue that was not mentioned, however, was the ultimate green opportunity to donate usable items to organizations that operate thrift stores. For instance, Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas TurnStyles thrift store receives more than 12,000 loads a year of unwanted but usable, good-quality items, while serving more than 3,000 customers per week.

Organizations, including UPS, Sprint, Embarq, Marriott Downtown, Costco, Wal-Mart, Target and LabOne, regularly provide good-quality items that are resold or given to clients in need, saving consumers millions of dollars and providing much-needed revenue to help financially support numerous charitable programs in our community.

Companies are able to reduce landfill expenses, save people money and receive recognition in the marketplace. In this tough economic period, that just makes perfect sense.

Doug Clopton
Director of in-kind donations, Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas
Overland Park