Roadside litter is everywhere and becoming a bigger problem day by day almost everywhere, including Harford County. However, there are people taking action – including the Harford County Roadside Litter Control – but this won’t completely get rid of the issue. 

      “The Litter Control Program picks up litter from more than 1,000 miles of county roadways,” describes harfordcountymd.gov. The Roadside Litter Control collected 57,197 pounds of solid waste in 2022. They also collected 25,191 pounds of roadside recyclables. In total, that’s 82,388 pounds of trash that people have thrown on the side of the road that are ruining our ecosystem. Agriculture teacher Mrs. Laura O’Leary says she has personally noticed an increase in litter.

     The litter goes everywhere from our water to our food. “Litter blows around and can be found in shrubs and bushes, and in low-lying areas like waterways and wetlands,” says the teacher.

     “Recent national studies show the most commonly littered item are cigarette butts,” says Maryland.gov. “Cigarette butts can take about ten years to decompose, making them especially harmful to the environment,” continued the source. Slowly, the more people that litter, the worse the environment gets. “Litter can affect wildlife and water quality,” explains O’Leary.

     Litter can have a large impact on many people and places. “Motorists (52.2%) and Pedestrians (17.5%) cause nearly 70% of litter along roadways and highways,” recorded Maryland.gov. Trashing our highways and roads doesn’t just ruin our environment, but on top of that, it makes our towns look bad. “The improper securing of cargo loads, including collection vehicles, represents 20.7% of roadway litter,” they continued.  

     People may feel as though this isn’t truly going to affect them, but citizen’s taxpayers money is going towards removing trash from the sides of the roads. “The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration removes over two million pounds of litter along our state-maintained roads each year at a cost of more than eight million dollars in tax payer’s money,” recorded Maryland.gov.  

     Along with litter eating up peoples taxes, people are affected in more ways than just this. “Litter carries germs that end up in various places, and as a result, it festers and forms a breeding ground for bacteria,” wrote ConserveEnergyFuture.com. This bacteria causes people to get sick and diseases to be spread.

     There’s more than just one thing that littering can harm. But there’s also more than just one way that litter can be prevented.  “Creating less waste is the first step in decreasing the rubbish that ends up in our environment,” said ConserveEnergyFuture.com. Another thing citizens can do is clean up litter in their free time. Citizens control whether they help solve  the problem, or hurt the environment even more.