Pay the price to keep our part of America beautiful

Every single one of us is guilty of it -- tossing something out the window as we drive down the road. Yes, it's just a little, tiny gum wrapper. But, can you imagine the massive pile of twisted, glinting gum wrappers if everyone in the world threw out their little, tiny gum wrappers?

That apple core, that banana peel you threw out thinking the raccoons would like it? Well, it rotted to an ugly, slimy patch on the roadside. Or think about this - the poor raccoon ran out onto the road to get that apple core and got hit.

Got a new refrigerator? What to do with the old is a concern, since it's your responsibility to properly take care of the refrigerant that once kept your food cold. A new stove? A new air conditioner? The old ones need to be disposed of properly, and, heaven knows, you don't want to pay to have the old ones taken care of.

Why do so many people think the only way to take of the problem is to dump the problem onto someone else, and dump the offending appliance into a county road ditch?

A county road crew member who spent the better part of one day picking up trash in the county ditches said most of the trash is at the bottom of hills and around secluded, wooded areas. Why? So passers-by won't see the people dumping the trash. So they're hidden better. So they're not made to be responsible for their own trash.

A waste management specialist said recently people are not doing this unknowingly. "People know they're not supposed to do this," he said. "Otherwise they wouldn't be sneaky about it."

It's disgusting that Work Camp offenders and Red Willow County road crew members picked up an entire dump-truck load of trash along just three miles of county road ditches. We live like bums -- everything's disposable, it's always someone else's problem and somebody will clean up after us. Take care of your own trash. Be responsible to your world -- it's the only one we've got.

In McCook, it's not all that difficult or expensive to do. The county operates a household waste recycling program that takes care of leftover paints and used oil.

The City of McCook's transfer station will accept, at no charge to anyone, appliances from which the refrigerant has been removed. White goods are not accepted at Nebraska landfills, so those accepted at the McCook transfer station are recycled locally.

For residents of McCook who pay for residential trash pick-up, there is no charge to get rid of that couch or overstuffed chair. For McCook residents, businesses or out-of-town residents who don't pay the city for trash pick-up, there is a charge of $46.68 per ton, or a $5 minimum, which, solid waste superintendent Rick Province said, translates to about 200 pounds.

If you need more information, call the city's transfer station, 345-7049.

Pay the certified refrigerant technician. Pay the city the $5 for the couch. You know it's the right thing to do.

It's really not too much to pay to live in a world that not's littered with disgusting old refrigerators ... couches ... stoves ... mattresses ...