trash collected from a county road

Cleaning Up a County Road

litter on county road

I have lived in the same general area of Laclede County my whole life. I have said before, I am the 5th generation of my family to live here. I love my community and I love living in the rural area where my ancestors settled more than 125 years ago. So, whenever I see the land being mistreated, it breaks my heart.

The most obvious sign of mistreatment is litter. There is one particular county road that I travel nearly every day. Over the past couple of years, I have seen the garbage pile up on this road to the point of being absolutely overwhelming. We watched a couch slowly deteriorate over the course of at least a year.

volunteers who picked up trash

My husband and I were saying for months that we would love to clean up the road, but there was no safe way to do it – there are no shoulders and the road is so hilly, no one would see us working as they drove down the road. One day, while driving the road, I decided I would email our Presiding Commissioner and ask if we could get the road department to set up warning signs for us so we could pick up the trash. The Commissioner, a cousin of mine who lives on this road, was more than happy to help. We set up a time, set up the signs, and in just an hour and a half, four of us had picked up all of the litter from the side of the worst 1/2 mile section of the road, including the couch. The County even let us use their dumpster to drop the trash.

picking up litter

Just four people picked up an entire trailer load of trash! It was me, my husband, my father, and my mother. We felt so accomplished after we finished, that my husband and I want to do it again.

A simple act can make a difference! If you see a problem, don’t assume it’s someone else’s job. Don’t ignore something because you think someone else will take care of it. You can make the world a little brighter. You have the power to change the world around you.

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I am a mom, small business owner, and lover of all things. I have a variety of interests and obsessions and use this website as an outlet for my eccentricities. I live in Missouri on a small farm, that was originally one of the first homesteads in Laclede County. I enjoy volunteering, gardening, foraging, knitting, canning, local history research, and genealogy. I am a member of Mensa, Phi Alpha Theta, Daughters of the American Revolution, Society of Indiana Pioneers, First Families of the Twin Territories, United States Daughters of 1812, Daughters of Union Veterans, Clan MacBean, Clan Sinclair, and the list continues to grow.