Proative approach best solution to trash

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 | midnight

Whether it's trash on the shores of Lake Mead, garbage strewn about our urban parks or debris dumped in our desert washes, littering remains one of the problems that harms our quality of life in Southern Nevada.

If you're not out and about in the community, you may not be aware of the magnitude of the problem. Rest assured, it's real.

The National Park Service, for instance, had been spending about $1,000 per day for inmates to clean up beaches at Lake Mead ­— until it canceled the cleanup contract because it was running out of money.

Even though the Park Service provides free trash bags and Dumpsters at the beaches, lake-goers continue to leave behind trash and some even dump furniture in the lake's coves.

The story isn't much different at Sunset Park, where Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts last weekend fanned out into the park's desert areas and filled some 80 trash bags with wrappers, cans, Styrofoam and even barbed wire.

It's a good thing the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts are willing to take on such tasks. Local governments, with their limited resources, can only do so much to keep our parks and public areas clean.

Thankfully, like the scouts, there are many Southern Nevadans who are helping to clean up after others and improve our community.

As an example, they're being called upon to assist with cleanups at Lake Mead, including one Oct. 4 at Government Wash.

In Henderson, residents living near the Pittman Wash conduct regular cleanups of the wash and its desert trails and are coordinating another volunteer project there on Sept. 27, in honor of National Public Lands Day.

Volunteers will install dog waste collection stations and work on trail improvements, efforts that are much appreciated by nearby residents and visitors alike.

Additional cleanups and desert restoration programs are set for the Sept. 27 at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, in conjunction with National Public Lands Day and the Don't Trash Nevada Day campaign.

Residents interested in joining these cleanups on the 27th, as well as future cleanup and restoration campaigns, are invited to contact the city of Henderson at www.cityofhenderson.com/public_works/project_green/upcoming_events.php or the Don't Trash Nevada campaign at www.donttrashnevada.org/about.htm

And we're hopeful that every day, all Southern Nevadans can help improve our quality of life by, first, not littering; and second, by participating in or supporting these cleanup efforts.

We agree with Marcfred Garrido, a 7-year-old Cub Scout who attends John R. Beatty Elementary School and participated in the Sunset Park cleanup.

"Without a clean environment, it wouldn't be so cool. It would just be all dirty," he said.