We have had a robust discussion on social media related to what should be an incredibly easy problem to solve. The topic was litter, but the real issue is personal responsibility and civic pride.
The beauty of Fayette County and its municipalities has historically been that we were not close to anything. With no immediate access to an interstate highway, our county, hovering around a population of only 20,000 around 1980, has been a slow growth haven for those who intentionally did not appreciate the clutter of a more urban lifestyle.
During the 1980s and ’90s the airline industry and Fort McPherson gave the county, and Peachtree City to a higher degree, a concentrated population of citizens with military experience. I attribute our exceedingly high level of civic pride and participation to this unique mix of citizens.
Twenty years ago, our biggest trash problem was when something fell off the back of a truck onto the state highway. There were no sprawling subdivisions near our borders in the adjoining counties and crime and litter were negligible.
Things have changed with a more diversified population and a sizable amount of growth occurring around Fayette County.
Do not get me wrong, I can honestly say that Fayette County is still head and shoulders above the other metro counties in terms of quality of life. However, enviably, when your population grows, the community picks up more people as a percentage who do not have as strong a sense of personal responsibility and civic pride.
I filled a tall kitchen trash bag up with floating garbage along the shore from Lake McIntosh. That was all I could fit in the kayak. I could have easily filled another trash bag.
For years, I watched a lack of personal responsibility from some of the people fishing from the banks at Lake Peachtree, leaving their plastic drink bottles, cigarette butts and worm containers on the ground after fishing. I am now seeing this on Lake McIntosh. I have never understood how people who derive some form of gratification from the lake think it is a good idea to trash it.
Local people volunteer to do clean-ups and I love them for it, but litter should not even be an issue.
We also see a lot of litter on the cart paths in Peachtree City and most of that lies squarely on the shoulders of city path users. Most of our young people on golf carts do the right thing and behave appropriately. The few that continuously misbehave, whether it be littering or reckless driving, need to be identified and hauled off the paths.
Being able to ride a golf cart is a unique privilege that our young people enjoy. We have some parents in the city and the county who are allowing their children under age 15 to drive the golf cart on paths and roads without an adult, which is a serious violation. Our families need to be responsible and follow the ordinances or risk being ticketed and have your child appear in juvenile court.
As I mentioned before, we are a lot higher on the civic pride scale than most. Let’s not let our standing erode and let’s stay vigilant, reminding our children of the importance of taking care of our community.
If people using our parks cannot show enough self-control to throw their trash in the trash cans, then we ought to ban the offenders from the parks. It’s ridiculous that people have to volunteer to pick up other people’s trash.
I am asking you to go walk the grounds over at Lake McIntosh and email your feedback on what the county can do to raise awareness and reduce the amount of trash in the water and on the grounds. It’s your lake. I look forward to your ideas.
Steve Brown, commissioner
CommissionerBrown@fayettecountyga.gov
Peachtree City, Ga.
