Maybe you remember the pop song from a generation or so ago that went: “. . . I would walk five hundred miles; And I would walk five hundred more”. That describes my family’s routine if you substitute “drive” for “walk” on the travel days of our summer vacation. States we visited in the east (the other side of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers in particular) were beautiful when viewed at highway speeds and mostly so when we left the interstates. It was interesting to compare places I had never been to with a hometown measuring stick.
I brought back a few souvenirs though I did not have time to collect any data on litter in the communities or campgrounds we visited. Recycling availability was not surprising with the exceptions of the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum in Kentucky. Both places had plenty of places to throw your trash yet not one bin for recycling.
Greenbelt Park in Prince George’s County, Maryland, provided our longest home – four nights. Our campground loop was mostly free of litter with trash cans in the aging restrooms and showerhouses. I liked the solar-powered trash compactor at the entrance to the loop. On our three days on and near the Mall in Washington, D.C., we used the same brand of receptacle, Bigbelly. Looking to be about 2x2x4 feet, all styles sported a pedal operated slot that is interactive and fun for kids to use. Pairs for recycling/trash were located all along the National Mall. The Mall itself was inaccessible for the most part, and looked pretty rough behind the high fences after The Great American State Fair concluded the day before we arrived. From an aesthetic point of view the reflecting pool was still mostly full when viewed from the Lincoln Memorial July 12 though was a totally drained black rectangle before we left.
Writing about Keep America Beautiful’s 2026 Litter Study earlier this year I emphasized roadways because Box Butte County has no major waterways and our neighborhood is far removed from any coastal area. My vacation offered a brief snapshot of water pollution. The waterfront in the District of Columbia did not look so bad until I walked along a spot under a major bridge where plenty of plastic and other floating garbage gathered. Lake Eerie’s Maumee Bay in Ohio boasted minimal litter such as a child’s goggles floating among the rocks. A 50-yard slice of public beach squeezed between private properties was a nearly pristine experience on the southern shore of Lake Michigan.
I only gave in to the urge to pick up a handful of litter during those two weeks although I cannot recall where. State Keep America Beautiful affiliates were prominent as we crossed borders. Large signs seemed to yell anti-litter messages. There were clearly communicated consequences as well as messages that appealed to personal responsibility.
Overall, most places we passed or stayed conveyed some level of environmental responsibility. There were times walking downtown when we could recycle plastic drink containers before hopping on the subway. Other times the entire car’s trash container went into the filling station’s can. Our last stop, back in Nebraska at Ponca State Park, even included composing facilities at the visitor center. Nope, no apple cores on hand from lunch two days ago.
We rarely see who keeps America beautiful and who messes it up. Thank you very much to the former, especially in Alliance and Hemingford. As to the latter, I’m sure they’ll come around.