06/23/2006: "New Group On SJ Is Talking Trash!"

San Juan Island is being overrun with litter, and the San Juan Island Anti-Litter Initiative wants to change that. In the first quarter of 2006, more than 19,500 pounds of litter were picked up on island roads and beaches. This is more than double the 9,440 pounds collected in the first quarter of 2005. These numbers are alarming both in their magnitude and in their trend.
Litter creates an eyesore, harms wildlife and their habitats, and is a potential hazard for motorists, cyclists, and roadside walkers who may be struck by anything blowing out of an unsecured load, a lit cigarette, or an empty bottle. Lit cigarettes are also a fire hazard, as demonstrated by a brush fire in 2004 alongside Cattle Point Road.

You can be fined for littering. The fine for illegal dumping is $1,000-$5,000 plus jail time. Failing to secure a load could cost you $194. The fine for littering a food or beverage container is $95. Tossing out a lit cigarette could cost you $1,025.

No one likes to look at litter. Its presence on our roads and beaches has a potentially negative effect on our tourist industry. Nationally, the Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that 80 percent of land-based litter ends up in our oceans, killing thousands of marine animals who become entangled in debris or consume it, thinking that it is food.

A volunteer effort to reduce litter, the SJI Anti-Litter Initiative has recently been formed to promote community-wide support and involvement in the development and implementation of an integrated package of anti-litter programs on the island, through education, prevention, and clean-up.

What's Next?

The San Juan Island Anti-Litter Initiative has identified the following projects for 2006:

� Develop a coordinated public education campaign with project partners.
� Coordinate volunteer clean-ups.
� Participate in July 4 parade and County Fair.
� Work with local schools to develop programs that encourage island youth to contribute to the elimination of litter.
� Collaborate with Public Works on the installation of roadside anti-litter signs.
� Make requests to County, Town and Washington State Ferries for more trash receptacles at key points.
� Encourage point-of-sale communications.
� Request enforcement of anti-litter laws by the County Sheriff.

What You Can Do

Every piece of litter has a person's face behind it. All of us can lend a helping hand in solving the litter problem. Here are a few ideas:

� Talk litter with friends, neighbors, and co-workers.
� Clean up roadsides and beaches on July 5 - Our island takes a litter-pounding on July 4!
� If you see people littering, gently point out to them that they have dropped something.
� Secure your load!
� Adopt a roadside or beach area that you clean regularly. Patt Martin of County Public Works (378-7850) will provide you with bags, gloves, grabbers, safety vests, and will pick up any bags of litter that you collect.

For more information or to get involved in the anti-litter initiative, contact Lori Stokes (378-4643) or David Dehlendorf (378-1082).

Over 40 organizations have expressed support for this initiative. Project partners include: Bed & Breakfast Assoc. of San Juan Island, Friends of the San Juans, Island Rec, Journal of the San Juan Islands, The Island Guardian, Kings Market/Market Place, Kiwanis, Lion's Club, Miller Drywall, Port of Friday Harbor, Roche Harbor Resort, Rotary of San Juans, San Juan Association of Realtors, San Juan County Land Bank, San Juan County Parks, San Juan County Public Works, San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce, San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau, San Juan National Historical Park, San Juan Preservation Trust, San Juan Safaris, San Juan Transit, Soroptimists, Susie's Mopeds, Town of Friday Harbor, Trails Committee, and Washington State Ferries.