I agree in principle with Stan Zabierek’s April 26 letter about litter (“People who litter are trashing roads”), but I question the efficacy of remedies he suggests.
A bottle bill would add to consumers’ inconvenience by necessitating the return of empties to a retailer and would increase retail prices to all consumers, even those who don’t purchase canned or bottled beverages, to pay for handling costs.
Even if another driver witnessed and reported someone in another car littering and noted the registration and vehicle information, it would still be impossible to identify the driver to be fined. Fines for littering would necessitate that police see the offense and immediately ticket the driver at the site, and the administrative costs of actually collecting the fine might exceed the amount to be collected.
I’ve been picking up and recycling litter in Wilton since moving here 18 years ago. I’m resigned to the reality that the ignorance of the guilty people will never be corrected and the only feasible remedy is to continue to clean up after them, as unfair and unpleasant as that might be. Nonetheless, I take pleasure in trying to maintain the appearance of the beautiful country roads near my home and consider my efforts to be community service for which the reward is entirely intrinsic.
My recommendation is that all the people who walk always take along a bag to collect and then recycle the trash they see along their route. It costs nothing, and the collective impact would, I propose, be noticeable.
Ruth Smith
Wilton