Image courtesy Butler County Sheriffs Department

On my way out this morning I happened to notice a trailer parked underneath a bridge underpass as I was going down the highway. A quick glance was all I needed to see that this wasn’t a break down parked on the side of the road, no this was the “Butler County Sheriffs Department Chain Gang” trailer.

I wasn’t surprised to see the trailer. Butler County, Ohio is renowned for its jail labor programs and this particular road gets scoured by inmates about once a month. I’m certain we will discuss the merits, or lack thereof, of such programs in the future, but today my surprise was not in seeing the inmates there. My surprise was about the trash.

As my Daughter and I traveled down the road we began to count the trash bags. One, Two, Three, Ten, Twenty, Thirty! We stopped counting. Having traveled for just over four miles along this highway we counted more than thirty full garbage bags of trash. The frequency was highest at the on ramps, as many people simply dispose of their food packaging as the finish up from their latest pitstop, thoughtlessly tossing whatever lunchtime refuse there was out the window.

So while the merits of using inmate labor to clean up after the slobs of America remains a debate for another time, the slobs of America are the debate of the day.

Certainly there is some amount of tash that accumulates along the roadside that is less avoidable than others. Tire debris from passing trucks, items unknowingly lost from the back of an open pickup truck, trash blown in during the latest windstorm. These are the expected items that merit some amount of effort to remove. Thirty bags or debris in such a short distance requires a lot more than just tires and roadkill, it requires the human touch.

McDonalds bags full of trash? Cupholders, cups, cans and bottles of every type and size. These are the tools of the thoughtless. Tossed whimsically from cars as they travel down the road these people seem to be either too busy to stop later to drop their trash in a garbage can, or they simply can’t stand to have anything dirty in their pretty, overpriced car.

So, how to prevent this? How to eliminate one more of lifes little inconveniences? That dear reader, I leave to you. Your comments are welcome.