Thank you for your editorial on Baltimore City's trash problem (“Baltimore's perpetual trash problem,” Apr. 11).
Trash is truly out of hand and has become a real blight. We see trash everywhere along the roads in Central Maryland, and the woods and even the streams are also trash-filled. People throw cans and bottles from their cars and sometimes just dump furniture, appliances, entire bags of garbage and loads of tires by the roadside and by the light rail tracks.
Here in Glen Burnie, family members and I pick up trash every week along a wooded bit of road near our house. We have received help from our county councilwoman's office in removing larger items, and once we had help from inmates after I called about the deplorable state of our area. Generally, though, trash seems to be a low priority for local officials.
Smaller roads, such as that near our house, are apparently not eligible for "Adopt A Highway" programs. There needs to be more efforts by local government, pick-ups by inmates and other volunteer crews and perhaps some paid crews. We also need more signage imposing fines for dumping and more enforcement of fines.
Most of all, but hardest, there needs to be a change in people's attitude toward their environment.
Robert H. McGowan, Glen Burnie