conservationeducation

[conservationeducation]

Organizations to Look Into.

Getting involved with local organizations dedicated to litter cleanup/prevention is a great way to help with this issue. You could use them as a source to educate yourself on how littering is an issue, you could even join them for clean ups, or you could use their services to report littering. Not only will you be helping the environment, you have the opportunity to form relationships with others who care about the issue and conservation like you do. No matter what level your involvement is, simply getting in touch with organizations is a great way to start battling the issue of littering. Here are some organizations in/around the Zanesville and Muskingum County area that could be helpful resources. 

The Muskingum County Soil and Water Conservation District is an organization that provides resources to aid in the conservation of natural resources and the environment (1). This organization gives the community a lot of education about conservation and how it is important, and also provides ways you can help the cause. The organization provides education about conservation, so reaching out and inviting them to your school/work to educate others about the issue of littering may be helpful. This organization is already trying to combat littering with education, as I have seen posters by them around town giving information about littering and what you can do to help. In addition to education they also hold a lot of fun events focused around environmental conservation and also have a blog with many interesting articles. They would be a good resource to reach out to for possibly organizing a litter clean up or just getting more information on the issue. 

The Zanesville Litter and Recycling Department is the city’s main department to prevent and clean up litter (2). They help advocate for grants that can help with the littering issue in our area and provide education about littering and recycling. In addition, they also help organize city-wide clean ups, including a river sweep to help clean our waterways. They also provide recycling pick up services, so they will take and sort your recycling for you. You can also get in touch with the department and report areas of littering and they will make sure it is cleaned up. Overall, this organization would be good to reach out to if you wish to start recycling. 

Since Zanesville is a relatively small town, there are not many organizations here that help combat the littering problem (may be a good idea to start one though). So one major project that spread across the country is Keep America Beautiful (3). This organization is dedicated to cleaning up the country and making sure it stays beautiful. Using their website as a resource is a great way to find clean ups happening around the area, and you can also use it to sign up to be a volunteer. If you want to go even further with helping the battle with littering, you can create your own event and register it to find volunteers. This organization/resource is great to use if you are passionate and want to find a way to get involved. 

Volunteers with Keep America Beautiful doing a litter clean up (3).

References 

1.Home. Muskingum County Soil and Water Conservation District. (2023). Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.muskingumswcd.org/. 

2.Litter & Recycling. Litter & Recycling | Zanesville, OH. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://www.coz.org/199/Litter-Recycling. 

3.Keep America beautiful. Keep America Beautiful. (2023). Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://kab.org/. 

[conservationeducation]

How you can help with litter

Prevent it (1,2): The first way you can help with the litter issue in our community is simple, just do not litter! If you have trash that needs to be thrown away hold onto it until you can find a place to properly dispose of it. This stops trash from even entering the environment in the first place and prevents harm from coming to the environment. This is the most effective way to make sure that trash is not reaching the environment, and if everyone followed this then we would not need to worry about cleaning litter up and use time/money for more important things. 

Pick it up (1,2): If you happen to come across litter, then pick it up and dispose of it properly. I understand that since it is not your trash you may not see it as your responsibility, but it would be a major help when it comes to cleaning up our environment. Think about what would happen if more people started picking up trash when they come across it, there would be significantly less litter and greatly help the environment. Just make sure to clean your hands after you touch the trash!

Group together (1,2): Picking up trash may not seem like a fun activity, but doing it with other people can bring more excitement to it. Going as a group to pick up litter makes it more interesting as you have someone else to keep you company, and can make it safer for you. Your group could even make picking up litter a competition to see who can collect the most. This will motivate you and in the end more trash will be picked up. I have personally done this while kayaking with friends. Since we were together and made the clean up into a game, we had a lot of fun and it did not take much time. Joining these groups will give you a sense of community and make you more motivated. One organization to follow for events is the Muskingum Soil and Water Conservation District. 

Reduce your waste (1,2): Cut down on how many single use items you use and try to find reusable alternatives. I know this can be difficult in the Zanesville area as many using reusable products can be more expensive than single use items, but even little changes will be a great help. One example is using a reusable water bottle, which can be found at stores for relatively cheap. A lot of stores also sell reusable shopping bags, some for only $0.99. 

Recycle (1,2): Instead of throwing away your trash into the garbage where it will just compile with other trash, start recycling. By recycling your trash this lowers the amount of plastics/litter being produced and ending up in landfills. Some companies offer to pick up recycling at your house, you just need to separate it from your normal trash. You could also separate the recycling yourself and find a city recycling bin. I know there are multiple recycling bins around Zanesville for the public to use. If you have to sort the recycling yourself, you need to learn what can and cannot be recycled or it will end up in landfills anyways. Things you can recycle include: 

Paper - Newspaper, inserts, junk mail, magazines, paper backs, phone books, white and colored paper, shredded paper-put in a paper bag, clean pizza boxes, cardboard. When you recycle cardboard make sure you flatten it first. 

Plastic - Beverage bottles, personal care bottles, detergent bottles, food containers. Make sure these are emptied and rinsed first. 

Others - aluminum/tin cans, glass for food/beverages (only clear, amber, green, or blue colored glass). Make sure this is all emptied and rinsed (3).

References

1.Litter Prevention. Clean Virginia Waterways. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2023, from http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/LitterPrevention2

2.45 prodigious ways that can help you to prevent litter. Conserve Energy Future. (2022). Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/prodigious-ways-you-can-do-to-prevent-litter.php 

3. How to sort materials for recycling. Clean Green Rush. (2017). Retrieved April 3, 2023, from http://cleangreenrush.org/how-to-sort-materials-for-recycling/ 

[conservationeducation]

Littering and Pollution in Zanesville, Ohio

Littering is a major issue in the United States with an estimated 50 Billion pieces of litter around both roadways and waterways (1). This amount of litter has a harmful impact on the environment and wildlife. This is a major problem, but it is also 100% preventable. Yes we need to increase the amount of litter clean up programs, but we also need to make a societal change and stop the large amount of litter from even entering the environment. One study found that most people who litter do it simply because they do not want to take the time to throw it away properly or blame it on not enough trash cans (2). Even if there are not enough cans, people have to make the initiative to make sure they throw away their trash. 

Figure depicting what people answered of why they litter (2).

Discarded litter can be found all over Muskingum County. If you just take a 10 minute drive I am sure you will spot at least a few pieces of trash along the way. While you are on the road it’s also common to see drivers throwing out the remainder of their cigarettes onto the road behind them. Although this does not seem like a huge problem to some, the amount of trash in the area adds to a widespread problem that can have dangerous effects on the environment and human welfare. In Ohio 42% of people said they have recently littered, but that number could decrease if our area focused on our littering issue (3). Those who litter in Ohio can be charged with a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail, though it is difficult to catch littering in the act so many do not get punished (4). That is why littering is such an issue, most people can do it without consequence.  

This illustration shows just how dangerous litter can be for the environment (5).

Littering has many negative effects on the environment including air pollution, groundwater pollution, death of wildlife, and spread of disease. Not only does it harm the environment, it also harms humans/society. Since 2011, the Ohio Dept of Transportation has spent $48.6 million to clean up litter (3). This money could be spent on more important things to improve the state. 

This is a picture showing trash that has gathered in a parking lot in Zanesville, Ohio. There always seems to be trash in this spot at all times, and nobody seems to be picking it up. It is also common to see this trash form a ‘tornado’ during windy days. This is just one example of the many places trash can be constantly found in Zanesville. 

Dumping of large trash is also common in the area. This shows a spot where in 2020 someone was constantly dumping their trash along the side of the road (6). Littering is 100% preventable and actions such as dumping junk needs to be taken more seriously. Not only is this litter harmful, cleaning it up also takes away time/money that could be used for a better purpose. 

Zanesville is located right along the Muskingum River, and so litter frequently goes into our waterways. This trash can cause a lot of issues for the environment as it is estimated that millions of aquatic animals die from plastic debris each year (7). If this trash does not get picked up, then it will enter the waterways and potentially kill wildlife. 

References:

1.End litter. Keep America Beautiful. (2023). Retrieved April 2, 2023, from https://kab.org/litter/end-litter/#:~:text=Key%20findings%20of%20the%202020,)%20than%20roadways%20. 

2.Freije, A. M., Naser, H. A., & Abdulla, K. H. (2019). Attitudes and opinions towards public littering in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Arab Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 26(1), 354–361. https://doi.org/10.1080/25765299.2019.1628688

3.Ohio EPA, Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio Department of Transportation unveil statewide litter campaign. Ohio Department of Natural Resources. (2021). Retrieved April 2, 2023, from https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/news/Statewide-Litter-Campaign. 

4.Litter. Ohio Department of Transportation . (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/programs/litter#:~:text=Littering%20is%20a%20misdemeanor%20in,and%2060%20days%20in%20jail. 

5.Fahad. (2022). How does littering affect the environment? Earth Reminder. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.earthreminder.com/how-does-littering-affect-the-environment/

6.Blackburn, S. (2020). Illegal dumping problem has Muskingum County's attention. Zanesville Times Recorder . Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/story/news/2020/07/26/illegal-dumping-problem-has-muskingum-countys-attention/5487956002/. 

7.Why should we care about plastic in the Muskingum River? Lower Muskingum Conservancy. (2019). Retrieved April 30, 2023, from http://www.muskingumriver.org/why-should-we-care-about-plastic-in-the-muskingum-river/.