Littering may seem like the easy thing to do. When driving down the road or walking through the park, that empty water bottle or old fast food wrapper can seem tedious to hold onto. Sometimes, it may seem less cumbersome to just toss it to the ground and forget about it. However, littering isn’t just bad for the environment, it is also bad for a city’s image and the local economy.

Pearl River County has been facing a littering problem for years. The leaders of the county and its two municipalities are aware of the refuse problems and the impact it has. While ways to correct the problem have been discussed, in the end the problem has to be remedied within the individual.

“We need cooperation and for people to have personal responsibility,” Poplarville Mayor Rossie Creel said.

Where does this responsibility begin?

The negative impacts of littering seem as though they would be self explanatory, yet every day trash can be seen piled up along the side of the road.

To help address this issue, the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors have partnered with local artists to produce a coloring book for children called, “Keep Pearl River County Clean and Green.” The goal is to distribute the book to first and second graders around the county to teach children about negative littering habits.

While teaching children about the importance of not littering is a good step, efforts should be made to raise awareness among adults as well. Littering can cause the death of wildlife, pollutes ecosystem and makes local cities look unkempt – discouraging people from visiting and making it their home.

For the sake of the environment and our county, people of all ages should be aware of the negative impacts of littering and be mindful the next time the temptation to litter occurs.