Editorial: Let’s work together to stop the littering

Somewhere along the way select people forget that what they’ve learned and, instead, take the easy road to irresponsibility.

The most recent case of littering on woods roads in the Corner Brook is another sad and disgusting example of someone who chose to ignore the laws of the land, sound judgment and everything he or she was taught in elementary school about keeping this world a beautiful place.

The litter — more aptly described as dumping — was most recently found on Lady Slipper Road, south of the residential part of the city. It included a couch, computers, various other objects from the home and even a stuffed toy.

Why someone didn’t think it was a good idea to head to the landfill at Wild Cove, just a few kilometres away, is mind-boggling. The landfill is open six days a week from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Even if it was a late Saturday night decision to fill up the trailer, couldn’t the waste just sit in there in the driveway until Monday morning when the site opened again?

The education programs around waste of any sort or size is what makes these acts most puzzling.

Surely, anyone who has ever gone to school has heard the plethora of reminders about keeping this planet clean. Surely, as a child, the person responsible for this latest rash of waste heard those messages and listened — even if for a few short years.

What’s also confusing is how the family and friends of these “wasters” see the garbage plastered over media and say nothing? Who can claim they don’t know what a sister’s couch looks like, or a parent’s computer, or a nephew’s stuffed toy? And when these items are thrown together, the likelihood of familiarity grows exponentially.

Very few will blow the whistle on their family member but by ignoring the infraction family members are, in essence, enabling the person littering to repeat the offence again, and again.

As a community we need to collectively stop this nonsense and pursue action against those responsible.

We also need to heed the advice we were taught as kids and ensure we don’t grow out of our common sense.