The budget deal reached between the City Council and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake eliminates a $100,000 allocation to a city-wide litter prevention campaign ("Budget OK'd cutting property taxes, size of city government," June 21). The campaign is a partnership of federal, state, city and non-government partners to motivate struggling residents to revitalize their neighborhoods and their own lives by picking up litter in their daily routine.
Litter affects all Baltimore residents, but most severely in lower income, underserved neighborhoods. Travel & Leisure magazine listed Baltimore as the third dirtiest city in the country, hardly a distinction to be proud of. The city is also under federal mandate to reduce the amount of trash reaching the Inner Harbor, one of only three such waterways in the country. The blight of trash increases crime and decreases property values, residents' perceptions of their own communities and everyone's quality of life. It even makes it harder for children to use Baltimore's green space as parents fear injury from garbage on the fields.
When we've asked the council and the mayor to pass other litter reduction programs like bans on disposable bags or foam food packaging, they argue that the public needs to be better educated about litter. This campaign will do that, but it needs to be a priority of the city government to succeed. It is far cheaper in the long run to change behavior and prevent litter than to clean it up from our neighborhoods and waterways ad infinitum.
This year's budget took a lot of tough decisions, yes, but the City Council and Mayor Rawlings-Blake need to stop kicking the can down the road with short-sighted ones.
Julie Lawson, Cheverly
The writer is executive director of Trash Free Maryland.