Essay 3: Getting The Trash Out

The state of Alaska is well known for its majestic beauty. The city of Fairbanks is the largest city in Alaska's interior and is one of the best examples of Alaska's natural beauty. The summers are amazing and the winters although cold and dark have their own beauty. Springtime on the other hand is a mess of melting snow and mud. Another unfortunate side effect of spring in Fairbanks is that all of the litter that was once hidden by snow during the winter begins to appear as the snow melts. Springtime litter is a major problem in Fairbanks and takes away from the natural beauty of the city. Some cleanup efforts do exist, but litter is still strewn about the city after these clean up efforts take effect. Winter litter can be noticed weeks into summer. Another problem with clean up efforts done by the city is that they do not focus on individual neighborhoods in Fairbanks but mainly the main areas of the city and alongside the freeways. Although springtime cleaning efforts in Fairbanks are common, neighborhoods in the community should organize neighborhood cleaning groups after the snow melts because litter is unsightly, these groups would benefit the community as a whole, and it is an easy way to perform community service.

It is a fact that whenever the snow melts in Fairbanks the winter litter appears. No one wants to visit a city that is riddled with litter. Litter does nothing to increase the natural beauty of Fairbanks. The worst part about all of the litter is when it finally starts warming up enough to want to go outside, the amount of visible litter takes away from what should a beautiful and welcome experience after the long dark winter. For the most part people enjoy going outside and walking in their neighborhoods or around town when it begins to get warm outside. People also want to enjoy the beauty of springtime and the beginning of summer when Fairbanks warms up. By getting in contact with a few neighbors, the amount of litter in local neighborhoods could be reduced dramatically by the efforts of a few people in one afternoon. Because of their close proximity, it would be easy to create flyers about a cleanup effort for the neighborhood and post them around the area as well as slipping them into mailboxes and doorways. By picking a neutral time and meeting place, a lot could be accomplished by a few volunteers and one weekend afternoon. Through these cleanup efforts, the beauty of late spring and early summer as well as the overall aesthetic of Fairbanks would be greatly increased.

Fairbanks has a strong sense of community that can be seen year round. People who live here organize events that benefit the community as a whole. Many things can be done to benefit the community, and cleaning it up is one that is fairly simple to organize and easy to do. Organizing clean up groups not only benefit the individual neighborhoods that are being cleaned, but if the majority of neighborhoods in Fairbanks adopted this practice it would serve the community greatly as a whole. By beautifying the community and cleaning all the unsightly trash, the community benefits. The organization of neighborhood cleanup groups not only benefit the community as a whole but they would be a great way to clean up and benefit the local neighborhoods.

A lot of people talk about performing community service, but never participate for several reasons. Some say they simply don't have enough time. Others say that the opportunity never arises. By organizing or participating in a neighborhood clean effort is that it would take minimal take organization, planning, time , or even very much effort. It would also be an easy once a year way to commit some time to performing an act a community service. With a few actions and a little bit of organization, a neighborhood could be in tip top shape after one or two afternoons or days of cleaning. Another benefit is any little bit helps, whether it is just a few friends, or if the whole neighborhood pitches in, the community service would be beneficial. By organizing a neighborhood cleanup effort, people can perform the community service they always wanted to with very little effort. All it takes is a few people and a little initiative.

Litter is a problem all over the United States. From Alaska all the way down to Florida, neighborhood clean up efforts would be a simple way to benefit the community. While the problem of littering is very difficult to eradicate, the act of picking litter up and putting it out of sight is quite easy and depending on the volume, not incredibly time consuming.. Fairbanks' problem with litter is that it is covered by snow in the winter and the build up makes an unsightly mess during the spring and early months of summer. By organizing neighborhood cleanup efforts, this unsightly mess can be taken care of. Neighborhood clean up groups help to beautify the city. Neighborhood clean up efforts benefit the community as a whole. Neighborhood cleanup groups would also provide an easy way for people to perform community service. While it is as of now impossible to eliminate the problem of littering, neighborhood clean up groups would be a good way of getting rid of the litter.