Letters to the Editor

Letter: The Great Land garbage dump

I fell in love with Alaska more than 30 years ago upon my first visit. As with many other people, that first visit led to many subsequent visits until we moved here.

Like thousands of others, we drove an RV from the Lower 48 and through Canada to arrive at our beloved state. While traveling through British Columbia and the Yukon, we found bear-proof trash containers about every 20 kilometers. Often, there is a clean outhouse at the same rest stop.

Rarely did we find trash on the roadside on our road trips, except when we crossed the border into Alaska. Over the years, we have witnessed the systemic removal of Alaska roadside trash containers and subsequent increase in roadside garbage.

It’s now rare to find a rest-stop trash bin in Alaska. But it’s not rare to find an abundance of trash where they used to be. Just take a look over the edge of that rest stop and you’ll be disgusted to find plenty of trash and garbage.

One of the basic duties of government is sanitation. It may come as a surprise to those making these decisions that removing road-side garbage containers does not eliminate roadside garbage. In the name of short-term “budget constraints,” our leaders are trashing the state.

The British Columbia and Yukon governments have figured out how to keep their roadsides pristine and beautiful. Will Alaskans demand the same before we are known as the Great Land Garbage Dump?

— Mitch Sayegh

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