May 29, 2008 issue
One Piece of Trash At a Time
High Country Folks Do Their Part To Combat Litter Problem
Story by Anna Oakes
Editor’s Note: This is the first article in a series recognizing people in our community who work to clean up litter, educate others about litter and prevent the problem.
“I’ve become a trash professional,” Teresa Ellis said.
Well, she isn’t a garbagewoman, a waste management official or a dumpster-diving aficionado. Ellis and her husband Bill are just regular county citizens who make an extra effort to clean up the roadways in Watauga County.
“She and her husband make it a personal project to clean up litter in the Bethel area,” said Nancy Spann, a member of the MountainKeepers Stop the Litter! committee. MountainKeepers is an alliance of individuals, groups and organizations committed to the safekeeping of High Country communities; the preservation of natural resources, heritage and culture; and an enhanced quality of life for all citizens. The organization wants to honor and recognize individuals and groups who are working to stop litter in the area.
The Ellises spend time picking up litter near their home, on Bethel and Mountain Dale roads, but they don’t stop there. In fact, they’re armed and ready to combat litter at all times.
“If I’m going down the road, it doesn’t matter where I’m at,” Ellis said. She carries orange trash bags, disposable gloves and a litter pick-up tool in her vehicle, ready to pull over and pick up trash as soon as she spots it.
“It only takes a minute, and then I’m on my way,” she said.
The most common offenders are drinking containers, beer bottles, soda cans and larger items that get blown from large truckloads, she said. Roadway pull-offs tend to accumulate more litter; one day, she found three whole bags of garbage at one pull-off site. The strangest thing she has picked up was a kid’s swimming pool.
The Ellises are walking the walk, but they talk the talk, too. Ellis spends time talking to other folks about cleaning up litter. To make it easier for groups interested in adopt-a-highway programs, she has assembled starter kits with information about rules and regulations, applications and photos of others who have participated in the program.
“It’s all the info they need,” Ellis said. “I think people think it’s harder than it is.”
The Ellises have thought about adopting a highway themselves, but for now, their names are not on any road signs. “I’ll just keep doing what I do,” she said.
Ellis also has been brainstorming in preparation for this summer, when local youth will flock to the banks of the nearby Watauga River to swim. She has thought about spending a day or two with them to hand out trash bags and promote riverside cleanup. When she and Bill take hikes, they make a point to always bring back one piece of litter when they come back. She hopes to encourage youth to do the same.
“Even if it’s one little piece,” she said.
In educating others about litter, the most important thing is to remember that litter is “just a bad habit … good people with a bad habit,” Ellis said. “It’s really important not to approach people like you’re better than they are.”
For more information about the MountainKeepers Stop the Litter! program, click to www.mountainkeepers.org or call 828-268-0637.
Stop the Litter! Recognizes Businesses
Story by Anna Oakes
The MountainKeepers Stop the Litter! committee would like to recognize businesses in the community that are working to keep their properties clean.
“Especially those kinds of places where it’s not surprising to see litter, and yet there is no litter—or those businesses that are doing something very special about keeping their surroundings litter-free,” said Nancy Reigel, member of the Stop the Litter! committee.
Businesses that are recognized will receive a letter of appreciation and, if desired, a certificate to display. The first business to be recognized was the Valle Crucis Conference Center. Employees there clean up litter along their roadsides on a weekly basis, Reigel said.
Reigel said the committee would like to receive feedback and suggestions from businesses about how this program can be even more valuable for them.
“Success in this instance is recognizing as many businesses as are actually working to maintain a litter-free environment as possible,” she said. “Many recognitions is a good thing.”
For more information about the business recognition program, contact Reigel at 828-268-0637 or Ron Redmon at 828-297-9595.
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