Dear Editor:
I have often wondered why so many people litter and why, once the litter hits the ground, so many others refuse to pick it up. I live near Argyle secondary, as do many others. I have yet to see someone, other than myself, go out and pick up the garbage the teenagers leave behind.
It really doesn't take long; just grab a grocery bag, walk out of your front door and clean up what's in your driveway, yard or on the side of the street. If everyone could just adopt this mentality, the streets, school grounds, parks, etc. would be so much cleaner. As a society we have to stop relying on municipal workers and school custodians to do the job. I sent an email to the North Vancouver school district to find out why there is so much garbage on their school lands. My response was that the custodian has 30 minutes per day to clean up the outside of schools. That is not much.
I have two pleas for the residents of North Vancouver. 1) Please do not litter. I have seen children, teenagers and adults littering. Why? How do you live with yourself? As a parent please talk to your children and teenagers about littering. It is 2012, people; there is no excuse for it. 2) Can everyone go out and pick up the litter that is around your home, driveway, and street. Can you cross the street with this same bag and pick up what you can from a park, school and laneway? To those who argue "It's not mine, why should I pick it up?" I respond, "Because someone has to."
Let's ditch the old-school train of thought and start being bigger people. It doesn't take much, grab a bag and go. Once a day, once a week, once a month. Just do it!
Jody Labriola North Vancouver
