By Jeff Berti
Can you imagine, a litter-free Missouri? Each year, our state spends millions of dollars cleaning up trash. Those are your tax dollars that could be better spent!
Missouri State Statute 577.070 states that: “A person commits the crime of littering if he/she throws or places, or causes to be thrown or placed, any glass, glass bottles, wire, nails, tacks, hedge, cans, garbage, trash, refuse, or rubbish of any kind, nature or description on the right-of-way of any public road or state highway or on or in any of the waters in this state or on the banks of any stream, or on any land or water owned, operated or leased by the state, any board, department, agency or commission thereof or on any land or water owned, operated or leased by the federal government or on any private real property owned by another without his consent.”
I hear many “excuses” in the field as a conservation agent. Some simply say, “I forgot to pick up my worm container.” Others try and convince me they are only trying to help the poor individual that they have seen picking up aluminum cans along the riverbank. That’s very thoughtful. However, my view on littering is really quite simple – there is no excuse. If you bring it in, you can take it out! Like I have stated in previous articles, an aluminum can is much lighter when it is empty than it was with 12 ounces of beverage in it. I’m not the only one with this philosophy. The Missouri Department of Conservation, all conservation agents, the state legislature, the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Associate Circuit Courts of Missouri all take littering very serious. In fact, in Missouri, littering is a Class A Misdemeanor. This means that the offense of littering carries a range of punishment of up to a $1,000 fine, 1 year in jail, or any combination of the two. Those who litter can also lose their hunting/fishing privileges. In 2017, conservation agents made over 500 littering arrests across the state. This number doesn’t include the hundreds of arrests made by other law enforcement agencies across the state.
Did you realize it takes an aluminum can about 300 years to decompose? Well, how about a plastic bottle – that takes an estimated 1 million years before it rots. There’s no doubt trash is a problem in Missouri, but it’s a problem we can solve together. Be part of the solution: practice litter prevention in your home, school, workplace, and neighborhood.
Here are a few ideas to help:
— Reduce the amount of trash you create.
— Reuse and recycle whatever possible.
— Properly dispose of trash.
— Pick up any trash you find.
— Adopt a river or stream access.
— Join or start a stream team in your area.
— Adopt a section of highway.
— Report litterbugs to your local conservation agent.
With Memorial Day weekend coming up, there will be lots of people using the local fishing spots. If you find someone’s trash, pick it up. Every little bit helps. Maybe you feel your efforts are futile. All you are able to do is pickup the riverbank while waiting for that fish to bite. Please don’t get discouraged! As John Wooden once said, “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can.”
No more trash Missouri!
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
