Those who pick up aren't likely to litter

A group of Home Schoolers and adult organizers clear debris along White Mountain Highway on Saturday. (Harrison Thorp photo)

Seeing children like 8-year-old Anna Gregory of Milton traipsing through tangled underbrush on Saturday picking up plastic bottles, aluminum cans and gum and candy wrappers should give us all a good feeling.

It’s probably safe to say that Anna will never carelessly throw trash from her car when she’s a teenager, a college student or someday maybe a wife and mom.

When you take ownership in something, it’s not likely you’ll see it devalued.

It’s also safe to say that the individuals whose trash Anna was picking up probably never participated in a Milton Cleanup Day, or any cleanup day for that matter.

If they had they wouldn’t have thoughtlessly done what they did.

Many high schools have community service requirements where students have to provide some service to the community to graduate. It might be volunteering at a nursing home, picking up roadside trash or mentoring younger students. Maybe it’s time to start the program at a younger age. Maybe it’s time to mandate some roadside cleanup like volunteers did on Saturday.

While it was wonderful seeing the dozens of youngsters like the Home Schoolers, the Boy Scouts, the Cub Scouts and other young people from Milton Rec and elsewhere out in force, we can’t help but believe that if more youngsters helped out with cleanup day, fewer would be throwing trash from their cars as teenagers and adults.

With ownership, comes responsibility; with responsibility comes pride.

The parents and volunteers who organized and made it a point to get kids to buy into Saturday’s program are to be applauded.

If more parents became involved now in getting their children to pitch in on cleanup day, we are quite sure there would be less unsightly trash along our towns’ roadways for years to come.   -HT