Earth Day cleanup targets litter, plastics

BONNERS FERRY — Earth Day brings people from across the globe together to clean garbage from the streets and plant trees in the community — among other activities that bring people together every year to make this world a cleaner, better place to live.

Studies show how different compounds decompose over time, and it’s not pretty: a plastic soda bottle, for example, takes 450 to 1,000 years to decompose.

The community members of Boundary County came together and assisted with keeping the area that we live in looking its best, by picking up waste tossed out or lost by careless people passing through.

For Earth Day, Organizer Mackenzie Mendenhall brought residents of Boundary County together to not only support the community, but our picturesque county, by picking up trash from alongside the roadways of Boundary County around Bonners Ferry.

“About a month ago is when I really noticed all the trash in our community. I thought I would rope a few of my friends together to come pick up litter with me,” said Mendenhall. “Then I decided why not invite the community? It is Bonners Ferry after all. I love this place and these people. Our community is dynamic and receptive. The response to this event was awesome!”

There was a group of people from the Echo Springs Transitional Study Program, who gave their time to assist in keeping Boundary County clean, beginning at the top of the North Hill.

“We came out today to help clean up trash along the highway to support the amazing efforts of the Bonners Ferry Earth Day cleanup crew,” said Ben Porietis of the Echo Springs Community. “Living in this amazing environment each day is a true gift. It’s awesome to be able to give back to this county and to this beautiful planet. Happy Earth Day!”

With the products-on-demand lifestyle enjoyed by U.S. residents (including those in Boundary County), packaging from these goods are everywhere. From food packaging to toilet paper, there are thousands of items that everyone throws away on a daily basis.

Because plastics take so long to decompose, communities across the world have sought and brought solutions to enable community members to recycle, reduce and reuse products that take up a large portion of landfills.

The decomposition of plastic takes anywhere from 10 years for grocery bags, as much as 450 years for many common household plastic containers, and up to 1,000 or more years for other plastic waste, making it one of the most environmentally unfriendly causes of pollution on the planet.

Litter is everywhere, and it affects the environment in various ways. With most people agreeing that litter is detrimental to the environment, one can look out the window while driving and spot at least one piece of garbage along the roadway. There are careless people who toss garbage out on purpose, but many times, it happens because of poorly secured trash loads, animals getting into trash, and uncontrolled waste.

Properly securing garbage loads, throwing trash into a bin or bag in the vehicle instead of in the bed of the truck where it may blow out, and picking up any trash seen on the ground as one passes by, are just a few ways to help keep litter off of the streets.

“I think the most significant impact this cleanup had on the community wasn’t just the obvious ‘now the county looks better’ bit, but rather most of the people that volunteered were just that, volunteers,” exclaimed Mendenhall. “Just fellow community members. Not an organization or school affiliation or even those out for community service hours. It was just your plain ol’ neighbor, and I think that’s pretty cool. Earth Day is the perfect time of the year for some spring cleaning! And in my biased opinion we live in the most beautiful place in the world!”

Reflective safety vests, caution signs, and garbage bags were provided for those that attended the cleanup. Mendenhall would like to do another Earth Day community cleanup next year followed by a barbecue for the volunteers.

“I would love to see this event grow,” exclaimed Mendenhall.

In this community, people come together on many occasions to help out other community members for various causes. Coming together to keep the local area clean and the environment healthy, not only helps the human residents, but the critters and animals as well.