Editor’s note: This commentary is by Matt Fisken, a freelance energy adviser and permaculturist who lives in Hartford.
I recently picked up a very nasty habit. As the snowbanks have begun melting, I’ve been collecting discarded cigarette butts along the road during my walks. At some point, I started noticing how many there were and figured it wouldn’t be too hard to fill a bottle or can with these orange and white chemical-laden, non-biodegradable chunks of foam. I’ve probably gathered at least a thousand so far. It’s a surprisingly relaxing activity and really not much different than looking for beach glass or weeding a garden.
Vermont has a strong ethic of litter removal, starting in 1970 with the first Green Up Day. In the past 45 years, participation in this yearly event continues to be strong, but uncertainties over funding the non-profit organization have cropped up in the past few months. If new companies fail replace contributions no longer made by a few notable Vermont corporations, it could make it more difficult to organize picking up all that trash on the first Saturday in May.
Supposedly, an additional $25,000 to $50,000 a year is all that would be needed to keep Green Up Day going strong. Split evenly, that’s less than 10 cents per Vermonter. Or, to make up the difference, we could add a penny a pack tax on cigarettes since they appear to be the most littered item. Hopefully, citizens, lawmakers and corporations will all step up to ensure funds are available long into the future, but I think more than just money is needed.
Why wait until May 3 to pitch in? Bring a bag and gloves (latex gloves work well for butt collecting) on your next walk and see what you can find.
Trash is already visible along Vermont’s roadways and with any luck, the massive snowbanks will rapidly shrink in April’s longer days and higher sun. Why wait until May 3 to pitch in? Bring a bag and gloves (latex gloves work well for butt collecting) on your next walk and see what you can find. Doing a little bit every day, or once a week leading up to Green Up Day will make lighter work for everyone.
Limiting our efforts to a single day each year is certainly enough to make a serious dent in trash tossed out the rest of the year. However, there is nothing stopping Vermonters from doing this important work year-round, personally paying a few extra dollars to dispose or recycle the trash with the rest of their household waste.
Caring about our environment and taking the time to make a difference are what really make Vermont Green. If we all can do our part more often, we won’t need to rely so much on the goodness of corporations to pay for Green Up Day.
