Sumter outdoors columnist Dan Geddings: Some trash talking

The big meadow in front of my house was a cornfield when we moved into our new home. For more than 20 years, we've been able to sit on the porch in the evenings and enjoy the sunsets. Now the meadow is part of a big subdivision. The corn was discontinued, and the developer mows the field a couple of times a year to keep the land open and attractive to home builders. The new houses have been marching closer and closer each year.

Most of the contractors and builders do a good job of managing the trash generated by the building process, but some just don't seem to care. Roll-off dumpsters are usually placed on the sites, but they are sometimes overfilled and not dumped often enough. The paper packaging will blow out of an overfilled dumpster and get blown into our yards and the nearby woods. Of course, I pick up the trash from my yard and the area around my house.

I've asked contractors and realty companies to make a better effort to keep the trash off my property, and they have assured me that they would, but nothing is ever done. During the recent storms and strong winds, construction litter was blown across the big meadow in front of my house. No one made any effort to clean it up. It was eventually blown into the woods. I wonder if that's something that the Sumter City/County building inspectors could address?

The point I'm making here is that all litter is not scattered along our highways by uncaring motorists. It comes from multiple sources and is found everywhere - on our roadways, in our woodlands, in our streams and rivers. It harms our environment and our quality of life. There has been some interest in litter cleanups lately, and I've seen several articles in the paper that have addressed the issue. The most absurd thing I've seen is that some officials have blamed the litter problem on the pandemic.

Litter has been a problem a lot longer than the pandemic has been around, and a small crew of inmates on a few major roads in the past had hardly made any difference. The city and county have looked at litter vacuum trucks lately but have said the price may be too high. What is the price we already pay for a trashy community?

An article that I wrote a few weeks ago about trash generated the most email response I've ever received. I'm going to share some of the comments with you, and you can see for yourself what the cost truly is. Here are some excerpts.

Scott wrote, "Now that 2020 is in the rearview mirror, we hope the county gets its act together to help fix the problem. Because it is truly embarrassing."

Marsha added, "We are so embarrassed by the lack of respect and the lack of pride that some take in our county."

Dwayne said, "I am disgusted by it. I think doubling collection sites and some 24/7 access would help."

Jack declared, "I've always noticed how bad the litter problem is around here."

Charles wrote, "I'm a native here, and have been around the world as a sailor in the Navy. I agree wholeheartedly that we have an ugly trash problem."

Patrice said, "I live off Lewis Road, and the trash is a huge problem. It's even an issue in our small neighborhood."

Marion related, "Sumter could be a beautiful place if it weren't for the mounds of trash everywhere. My husband and I just moved to Sumter from Ohio. We love the state and the people, but it makes me sick to see the trash. How does Sumter plan to attract business and retail?"

Shena wrote, "We are a military family and have only been in Sumter for five years. No where else in the U.S. has been this bad."

Emily said, "South Carolina has got to be one of the trashiest (If not THE most trashiest) state in the U.S. The litter problem in Sumter is particularly deplorable."

Deb wrote, "Our nice town has a serious problem. It has become ugly and dirty, littered with debris. Something needs to be done."

Murphy declared, "You're right. For those of us that have lived elsewhere (primarily military) living in Sumter is like living in a trash can. I noticed it when we moved here in 2004, and it's only gotten worse."

Lakeshia asked, "What can we do?"

Will anybody listen? Believe me, I could go on and on, but you can see what the people really think. Trash cleanup days will be a good start, but more has to be done.

I love the outdoors and care deeply about the environment. Let's not continue to trash it.

Email Dan Geddings at cdgeddings@gmail.com.