By Madeline Lyne
Why do I pick up trash? Why don’t I just let somebody else do it? Well, let me start with this quote by Margaret Mead, the well-known social anthropologist, which I include with every email I send. It’s a quote by which I try to live: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Trying to do something is so much more effective and fulfilling than doing nothing. And, honestly, I’ve been picking up trash since I could walk.
When I was little, really little, like 2 years old, my dad and I would walk to the corner of our street in a Boston suburb to meet my mom as she was driving home from church on Sunday morning. We rarely made it to the corner despite getting an early start and that the distance to the corner was less than half a football field. The reason wasn’t because I had 2 year old toddler legs — it was because I already had a well-tuned and active “Litter Alert System.”
My 94-year-old mother will still tell me the story of how I crouched down to pick up bits of litter in my tiny hands and then, when my hands were full, how I’d pass the next bits to my dad to carry. We lived in a modest but clean neighborhood, so there really wasn’t much litter to pick up. However, I do find it interesting that I seemed to be innately wired to notice litter and know that it does not belong anywhere but in a trash can. And so I picked it up.
As I entered high school, I could no longer merely look at and be bothered by the bottles, cups, food wrappers, etc., mingling in the weeds and collecting against the curbs of my town’s main street. It was such an eyesore and reflected so poorly on our community. My friend and I organized a mainstreet cleanup and made the local paper! That was over 40 years ago! It was something I could do, and so I picked it up.
I crouched down to pick up bits of litter in my tiny hands and then, when my hands were full, how I’d pass the next bits to my dad to carry.
The feelings that motivated me so long ago have been creeping up on me over the last several years as I drive down any highway in Clark County and see Styrofoam, bottles, cans, to-go cups, fast food wrappers, tires, lumber materials, bubble wrap, paint cans, and so many other things that don’t belong on the ground. I find litter not only unsightly and flat-out unacceptable, but also a distraction while I drive. My “Litter Alert System” is still engaged, so in 2019 my husband and I decided to “adopt” a section of Highway 14 in Camas through the state Adopt-a-Highway program. Although we only completed a few cleanups before the pandemic, I was finally DOING something about what bothered me so much. This effort to pick up the ever-increasing and unsightly trash along our roadways was within my circle of influence — something I could DO. And so I did — I picked it up.
After the pandemic, I learned East County Citizens Alliance (ECCA) was organizing Highway 14 cleanups. I was so relieved to know like-minded people were volunteering to do trash cleanups in our area. A few months later my husband and I rejoined the Adopt-a-Highway program, laying claim to our same section of Highway 14 in Camas we’d worked on before.
I heard someone say recently that cynicism and pessimism are friends of the status quo. We can’t be cynical or pessimistic about Washington’s litter problem or nothing will change.
We collaborate with ECCA to increase our impact on trash mitigation. I know that litter will still fly off trucks with unsecured loads, that drivers will still throw beer and soda cans out their windows, and that some drivers will even dump construction debris or large amounts of trash to avoid a dumping fee. Unfortunately, trash reappears, and so I pick it up.
I am floored by the jaw-droppingly beautiful area in which I live. Every time I head east and approach the 192nd Avenue exit off Highway 14, I never take for granted how stunningly beautiful Mt. Hood is as it comes into view or how in just a 15 minutes’ ride I’m in the Columbia River Gorge — arguably one of the most picturesque areas in the country. It is mind-blowing to me that the litter on our roadways has been allowed to reach the incredibly unsightly level that I see everyday. I know, not only from the ECCA friends I have made, but other residents I speak with, that we have a big litter problem in Washington. I also know that if you don’t try, you can’t change anything.
I heard someone say recently that cynicism and pessimism are friends of the status quo. We can’t be cynical or pessimistic about Washington’s litter problem or nothing will change. Somehow as a 2-year-old, I knew litter did not belong on the ground and so I picked it up. Over 50 years later, as an adult, I still know that litter does not belong on the ground. And so I pick it up.
Our litter cleanup work is absolutely necessary. I and many others organize to pick up the trash on Highway 14, and in our parks, on our walks, or as we visit Cottonwood Beach. But this “downstream” approach to a cleaner Washington is not realistic or sustainable. It’s vital that we prevent the trash from littering our roadways, parks, and other areas in the first place. We think that, working together, we can reduce the volume of trash that ends up in our common spaces, but it will take working on the policy end of the problem, not just the cleanup end.
Whether you see yourself wielding a trash-grabber or writing letters to our state legislators and city councilors, we invite you to join us. For more details, please click here.
Madeline Lyne is a long-time resident of Camas.
TOP PHOTO: From left, Rob Seaman, Toni Brighton, Dan Lyne, Deborah Brown, Brenda Landy, and Madeline (Lynne) Lyne.
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