Students from Interact Club gathered at the Danville Riverwalk to pick up litter.
“The part of the trail we walked was well-kept for the most part, besides there being small sections of a bunch of little pieces of trash that had been cut up,” Elizabeth Brooks, sophomore, said. “For the most part it was a great experience and would be something I do in my free time.”
“My impression of the trail was that it was a very beautiful place,” Brianna Meadows, sophomore, said. “I enjoyed cleaning up, and it’s important people keep the park clean; throwing away trash in designated trash cans is a habit everyone should have and practice.”
There are a lot of ways we can help keep our communities and parks trash-free.
“Make sure to always throw your trash away, and any litter you see on the ground to dispose of it in a garbage can,” Destinee Parsons, sophomore, said. “It matters because we need to keep our environment clean and junk free, not only so it’s safer for us to live here, but for the animals as well.”
“People need to be held accountable for leaving their trash behind,” Brooks said. “I think there should be people who walk on the trail to get people to throw their waste in the garbage or take it with them, and if they don’t the city should fine them.”
All living beings are affected by the huge amounts of waste and trash being produced.
“Every piece of litter has a chance of killing an animal,” Meadows said. “It matters to me because the pollution constantly being dumped on our planet or into our atmosphere is terrible, and we need to do something about it.”
People need to promote trash pick-up and push for more sustainable alternatives.
“Covered trash cans on the trail would help keep the wind from picking up waste out of the bags,” Brooks said. “Signs to encourage people to throw their trash away and to pick up litter they see on their path would make a difference. Alternatives to single-use waste like plastic bottles or bags should be something the whole world is trying to make happen.”
Everyone has a different reason why this means so much to them, but everyone cares about keeping Danville litter-free.
“It matters to me because I don’t want the Earth to become inhabitable and filthy for us, or any other living creature we share this planet with,” Parsons said.
“The reason why this matters so much to me is because I’ve always wanted to be able to clean up all the rubbish I saw whenever I would walk the trail in the past,” Brooks said. “I went to the park a lot when I was little and I want it to look as nice as I remember it.”