Credit: Darrah Cloud
In 1965, folk singer Arlo Guthrie was convicted of littering in Berkshire County, Mass. The incident was detailed at length in his exaggerated retelling of the story, “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” released on record in 1967. “There was another pile of garbage,” he sang, “and we decided that one big pile is better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up we decided to throw ours down.”
In Pine Plains, motorists who drive down Mt. Ross Road and turn east on Route 199 can often see a melange of garbage on each side of the scenic roadway.
On April 27, local residents, organized by the Pine Plains Democrats, gathered to address the issue of roadside litter head-on. Armed with grabbers, pickers, high-visibility vests and contractor’s garbage bags, they set out to clean the litter-strewn roadsides. Party affiliation was not required to participate. Saturday’s volunteers included a former coach at Stissing Mountain High School, a town board member, a lawyer, a nurse, and a few professors. Many of them grew up in Pine Plains.
Credit: Darrah Cloud
Murphy Birdsall, a participant in the clean-up and volunteer at the New Pine Plains Herald, expressed her frustration while removing a plastic bottle from a clump of wildflowers. “It’s so disheartening,” she said, a sentiment echoed by many volunteers as they navigated through the refuse, which included fast food packaging, car tires, and plastic bags tangled in local flora.
According to an April 8, 2023, article in Discover Magazine, the motivations concerning littering are complex and varied: lack of nearby receptacles, a sense of detachment from the problem, and sometimes, a rebellious thrill. In Pine Plains, however, the presence of waste receptacles at local establishments and gas stations makes the first reason unlikely, leaving a blend of apathy and defiance as probable causes.
“It always feels good to help beautify the town by picking up roadside trash,” said Dick Hermans, an organizer of the event and member of the Herald’s board of directors. “We’d all probably feel better if some people stopped being litterbugs.”
When the clean-up was over, three hours later, and 13 trash bags were deposited at the gate to the town Highway Department, which offers to take them every year, volunteers drove home over the same roads they’d just walked. One observer commented that the litter was so prevalent it looked as if they’d never been there.