How You Can Prevent Idaho from Becoming a Massive Garbage Dump

I saw the beer can outside my eye doctor’s office. There are no stores are bars nearby. Some folks on Facebook joked someone was looking for an easy eye test and got a little sloppy before going inside. What we used to call pie-eyes.

Credit Bill Colley.

What struck me was that I had received a couple of messages last week from a regular reader of our websites. He’s a professional driver.

People Just Toss it Out

The guy explained that the Interstate between Boise and Twin Falls is just one large garbage dump. While roadside litter is nothing new, his observation is that things are worsening.

I’m not sure what’s at work here. I have a few assumptions. Perhaps it’s all the transplants who’ve come to Idaho. Maybe they don’t care. Maybe they lived in filth before they arrived and are comfortable with the mess. But we too often blame outsiders and overglamorize ourselves.

People No Longer Care About Where They Live

Another theory is that we’re seeing the growth of a generation that doesn’t care. When I was a little boy in school, we were indoctrinated in Earth Day and anti-littering campaigns. We watched crying Indians on television weeping at the sight of roadside trash. I witnessed my dad writing tickets for littering. A 50-dollar fine was a big throw in those days. The nanny state where we lived instituted a bottle and can return law when I was a teenager. A local man got rich opening a recycling center.

Maybe we’ve reached a point of exhaustion. I don’t know, but I’m worried. As most of you know, I’m far from a tree-hugger, but I also believe in being a responsible citizen.

A few years ago, I was driving Highway 12 between Helena and Deer Lodge, Montana. An almost pristine stretch of road. Then, I observed a plastic bag floating in the wind. I guess it was easier for someone to toss it out a window than throw it away when they reached their destination.