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What makes any place liveable is its curb appeal. Ask any real estate agent or HGTV expert that behind location, what a place looks like on the outside is what attracts people to it. That’s what Visit Luzerne County is doing with its growing anti-litter campaign. To bring in more visitors, up tourism and beautify the county, it all starts with doing your part to keep it clean.
Staff writer Bill O’Boyle pointed out his article Wednesday, Visit Luzerne County is combating litter before it becomes an epidemic. Through its partnership with the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, the organization is reaching out to the community to teach everyone how they can do their part to reduce litter.
With a proactive approach and enforcement, keeping Luzerne County clean and litter free will help residents and visitors enjoy the many attractions and natural beauties the region has to offer. Seeing discarded fast-food wrappers during a morning jog at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre can spoil your day. Candy wrappers and beer bottles aren’t the nicest looking yard ornaments. A lumpy, worn sofa along Interstate 81 is not for sitting. Tossed bags filled with garbage near a creek don’t magically crawl into dumpsters or into trash trucks; the contents may spill into the water and block the flow.
And with litter all around, why would anyone want to visit a place for the day? The smells, unpleasantness and overall filth create a bad impression. Ted Wampole, executive director of Visit Luzerne County, and Butch Frati, director of operations for Wilkes-Barre, both say that enforcement is key in deterring litter, and Wilkes-Barre officials are brainstorming fines and penalties for litterbugs.
The Poconos region knows how much litter can affect its top pull — tourism. Its curb appeal is its biggest draw, and Wampole told officials that when litter is visible to travelers, it has a negative economic impact. For an industry that brings in nearly $1 billion annually, imagine how many dollars the sight of soda bottles, crumpled-up paper and plastic bags take away.
Stopping the problem before escalates is the right move for Visit Luzerne County to take as the region moves to bring in more visitors and boost the tourism economy. Pairing with the Poconos to get the message out and enforcing Act 62, a law that created Litter Enforcement Corridors to crack down on dumping and littering, are steps in the right direction. Anti-littering signs and billboards will get the message across.
“Visit Luzerne County recognizes the impact littering can have on both residents and visitors and hopes that, through these next steps to raise awareness and grow involvement, we can work together to keep Luzerne County a beautiful place to live and visit,” Wampole said.
Help keep Luzerne County’s curb appeal beautiful. Littering is a community problem that can be solved through a joint effort.
