Trash and its affects on our world

Dear Editor,
    Trash is polluting our town. It’s on the sides of the roads, in the ditches, and is being washed into the rivers and streams whenever it rains. Together we can stop this and make our town cleaner; more welcoming to tourists; and even more beautiful than it already is. Let’s learn how.
    First of all, we have to address the reality of the problem and its severity. Each group that was sent out picked up at least five trash bags full of trash, but you can’t forget about all of the bottles we also found. Some of the items that were found were tarps, roofing, of course the candy bar wrappers, and the occasional cooler. Since we hadn’t expected this much trash, we didn’t have enough bags to put it all in. Some stuff we had to leave behind for bigger groups because of the weight of all the trash.
     What really surprised me was the amount of trash that was found around the trash cans. Some people in our town are careless, and won’t take the time to make sure that their trash makes it a few inches from their hand into the trash can with an opening of more than two feet wide. It’s our job to raise awareness of this problem with the people.
     Some people will just stick their arm out the window and drop whatever they have in their hand. To get through to the people that this is wrong, we should raise the fine on littering. Money these days is what makes the world go around, and the more people have to pay for something that they dropped out their window, the more thoughtful people may become. These people think that they have no better place to put the trash, well, they do. What I have seen to be very popular for trash disposal in vehicles is the plastic bag between the two front seats. This way, whenever someone has just gotten done enjoying a snack, the person can keep his arm in the vehicle. No more cold arms. This is a very effective way to keep the waste off the ground so it can be properly disposed of later.
 Trash is a growing problem not only in our town or our state, but all over the world. It is spreading like a disease with the wind, the water and us. Most trash is not biodegradable, and although some companies have been getting better at this, it is still a problem. (Biodegradable means it will eventually break down and become dirt or fertilizer.) This means that trash you might have seen blowing along the side of the road could be there for several more years, maybe even a decade. With many hands, this work can be made light and we can make a cleaner and more inviting tourist attraction.” “Welcome to Maine, The Way Life Should Be,” in a few years could be a memory of what Maine used to be like. Let’s not let that happen.
Christopher Kenney
Grade 8
Houlton Junior High School