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A Newsletter by the City of Saco, Maine	June, 2006	Return to newsletter index

Waste wise: The litter - stormwater connection

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Litter is a growing problem across the country and I just wanted to mention some issues with litter. It's really easy to spot the people who don't seem to care about our environment. They're the ones who drop things out the window of their car while they're driving. One cigarette here, one there, it doesn't matter. It's not just cigarettes either; it's candy wrappers, lollypop sticks, gum, and small wads of paper. These little pieces of litter are small right? Wrong. Every thing that goes on the ground, whether it's litter, fertilizer, soap from washing the car, or even soil, can end up in our stormwater! Not to mention the fact that litter is unsightly. It can take one cigarette up to 10 years to biodegrade because cigarette filters are not made of cotton, they're made of a nylon blend, and as we all know, plastic takes a while, if not forever, to break down.

I know, no one wants to pick up litter. There's a really easy solution though, don't make litter in the first place! By taking responsibility for our actions we can prevent litter from even happening. Do you really want your tax money spent on Public Works picking up litter? As long as people litter, there will be tax money paying for the few who decide they can't put their trash in the proper place.

The good news is, Saco looks a whole lot cleaner due to the trash and recycling carts. Here are a few tips to keep litter from spilling out of your carts:

• Styrofoam peanuts should be placed inside a bag, and then your cart. They are too light to stay inside the cart when it is being dumped and they end up all over the ground.
• The same is true for shredded paper, shredded paper is accepted in the brown carts, but it should be placed inside a paper bag, or an envelope for those smaller pieces of mail.
• Also, extra trash, or bags of trash on top of your cart, or on the ground outside your cart will not get picked up, so please don't leave it at the curb for our local animals to feast on.

The City has recently spent a lot of time and money on redoing the downtown area. Since Saco prides itself on being a Main Street community, it would be nice to keep those areas, and the rest of the City clean. Businesses thrive on these areas, and it is important to keep a clean and environmentally friendly image.

Another great way to keep the City clean is to Adopt-A-Road. This program provides trash bags and gloves for groups that are willing to pick up garbage along their road. There are still plenty of roads available for the Adopt-A-Road program. If you are interested, please call me for more information at 282-1552 or email me, Sarah Wojcoski, at swojcoski@sacomaine.org.