Have you ever taken the time to observe what may be found on the side of the roads you drive everyday? What about the highway? Whether you are making your commute to work, running errands, or just simply going for a joyride, you may have noticed what is scattered all along the roadside of many roads...TRASH. And a lot of it. Roadside waste has become a growing issue within city limits, as well as beyond these limits, and it seems that clean-up crews just can't keep up with the daily littering of drivers.
So, exactly what is the problem with roadside waste and littering? If you believe that the only issue with roadside waste is the fact that it just looks bad (which it does), then prepare to be enlightened! The issues behind roadside waste go way beyond than just being an eyesore, and scientific research has backed this up. These issues are not only relevant to the surrounding environment, but can extend way beyond our intentions.
First and foremost, illegal dumping on the roadside can impede on natural runoff of water during storms and heavy rain. This accumulation may cause flash floods and end up damaging land and property. This trash can also be caught in the runoff and flow into near bodies of water, thus contaminating drinking water supplies, lakes and rivers. Marine life is then ultimately affected by plastic debris that can be found in our rivers and oceans. These threats to marine wildlife, as well as other types of wildlife, include physical hazards from ingestion and entanglement, as well as toxicological threats from ingestion. These substances are known as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances and are chemical compounds that are very resistant to breaking down and eventually accumulate in the tissues of organisms that are constantly exposed. These toxic compounds are highly mobile in the environment and can even travel up the food chain, meaning that organisms at higher levels of the food chain can show levels of PBT substances because they continually eat prey that have these substances in their tissue. It is just one large, toxic cycle. Ingestion of these plastic particles ultimately lead to the development of internal and external wounds, impairment of feeding capacity, decreased mobility, and reproduction capacity.
So, how does mismanaged trash affect us as humans? Remember earlier about the idea of PBT substances traveling up the food chain? Being at the top of the food chain, it should be no surprise that these toxic substances can potentially be ingested by millions of people who heavily rely on fish and other forms of wildlife for food. We can also be directly harmed by this trash. People are injured every year becoming entangled in nets and lines while swimming, or injured by sharp debris that accumulates on beaches, causing puncture wounds and lacerations.
Were you aware of the many affects mismanaged trash has on the environment and the life in it? If not, I hope you walk away from this post enlightened and with a new mindset that will fuel your efforts in preventing these growing issues before they become too large to fix. To put things into perspective, me and a friend of mine decided to check some local roadsides for littered waste and decided to collect it and see how much we can get. We focused on a few roads that branched off of State Route 42, Ashland OH, totaling a single mile of roadside-pickup distance. We found waste of many types, such as plastic bottles, pop cans, beer bottles, tin containers, cardboard boxes, and much more. In the end, we were able to collect THREE trash bags full of littered waste that totaled to about 24 POUNDS in weight of roadside trash. Keep in mind, however, that this was only across a single mile of walking distance - JUST ONE MILE. To put this into perspective, there are about 4,071,000 miles of total road distance in the USA alone. One can only imagine the amount of waste that is present across the whole country!
As the reader, I challenge you to take notice of this issue on some of your daily commutes and if you are up to it, go out for yourself and see what waste has accumulated around your favorite spots and take action. Just remember, the best way to prevent further waste accumulation is at the source -- YOU.
For more information on how YOU can manage waste and help the environment, visit the EPA's website to learn about Ten Ways to Unpackage Your Life.
So, exactly what is the problem with roadside waste and littering? If you believe that the only issue with roadside waste is the fact that it just looks bad (which it does), then prepare to be enlightened! The issues behind roadside waste go way beyond than just being an eyesore, and scientific research has backed this up. These issues are not only relevant to the surrounding environment, but can extend way beyond our intentions.
First and foremost, illegal dumping on the roadside can impede on natural runoff of water during storms and heavy rain. This accumulation may cause flash floods and end up damaging land and property. This trash can also be caught in the runoff and flow into near bodies of water, thus contaminating drinking water supplies, lakes and rivers. Marine life is then ultimately affected by plastic debris that can be found in our rivers and oceans. These threats to marine wildlife, as well as other types of wildlife, include physical hazards from ingestion and entanglement, as well as toxicological threats from ingestion. These substances are known as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances and are chemical compounds that are very resistant to breaking down and eventually accumulate in the tissues of organisms that are constantly exposed. These toxic compounds are highly mobile in the environment and can even travel up the food chain, meaning that organisms at higher levels of the food chain can show levels of PBT substances because they continually eat prey that have these substances in their tissue. It is just one large, toxic cycle. Ingestion of these plastic particles ultimately lead to the development of internal and external wounds, impairment of feeding capacity, decreased mobility, and reproduction capacity.
So, how does mismanaged trash affect us as humans? Remember earlier about the idea of PBT substances traveling up the food chain? Being at the top of the food chain, it should be no surprise that these toxic substances can potentially be ingested by millions of people who heavily rely on fish and other forms of wildlife for food. We can also be directly harmed by this trash. People are injured every year becoming entangled in nets and lines while swimming, or injured by sharp debris that accumulates on beaches, causing puncture wounds and lacerations.
Were you aware of the many affects mismanaged trash has on the environment and the life in it? If not, I hope you walk away from this post enlightened and with a new mindset that will fuel your efforts in preventing these growing issues before they become too large to fix. To put things into perspective, me and a friend of mine decided to check some local roadsides for littered waste and decided to collect it and see how much we can get. We focused on a few roads that branched off of State Route 42, Ashland OH, totaling a single mile of roadside-pickup distance. We found waste of many types, such as plastic bottles, pop cans, beer bottles, tin containers, cardboard boxes, and much more. In the end, we were able to collect THREE trash bags full of littered waste that totaled to about 24 POUNDS in weight of roadside trash. Keep in mind, however, that this was only across a single mile of walking distance - JUST ONE MILE. To put this into perspective, there are about 4,071,000 miles of total road distance in the USA alone. One can only imagine the amount of waste that is present across the whole country!
As the reader, I challenge you to take notice of this issue on some of your daily commutes and if you are up to it, go out for yourself and see what waste has accumulated around your favorite spots and take action. Just remember, the best way to prevent further waste accumulation is at the source -- YOU.
For more information on how YOU can manage waste and help the environment, visit the EPA's website to learn about Ten Ways to Unpackage Your Life.
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