Sometimes One Person Can Make A Difference

In January, I did a post called "People who Dump Garbage are Scum."

Finally I e-mailed the King County Illegal Dumping people, and complained about the garbage dumped along the green belt behind the strip mall.

Especially the computer monitor in the stream. Computer monitors leach heavy metals into the soil and water (you may already know this from other sources, sorry if it's redundant information). It bothered me more than all of the other garbage. There are many frogs and a pair of ducks living in that pond right now. Okay, probably not so many frogs anymore, thanks to the ducks.

So, this morning the guy from King County who was looking for the dump site called - unfortunately, he woke me up. I was less than coherent. He couldn't see any of the items I'd reported. I'm thinking 'How can you not see it!' and "He's going to think I'm a nut!' I explained again where it was with my limited directional skills. He told me he'd keep looking.

Several minutes later he called back. He apologized for bothering me again - and I explained I hadn't quite been awake when we first spoke. After a short conversation, he realized he was in the wrong area - he was behind the big chain grocery store across the street.

He reported, "I see the computer monitor. I'm going to grab it, and then talk to the grocery store, and maybe the property owner. We've received a lot of complaints about this site." I told him the property owner is quite elderly - if it's still the same guy it was a few years ago.

My report actually accomplished something. The computer monitor is out of the water. I couldn't have gotten it myself - it is in a stream. If I had moved it may have been my responsibility to get rid of it. My other thought is - a seeping computer monitor may draw attention to the bigger problem.

Maybe now something will be done about the garbage being dumped.

I guess the moral of the story is - don't just sit back and complain. Do something; even if it's making a call to someone who can do something.

I have been thinking about getting a garbage bag, and gathering up a bag of the garbage along our part of the greenbelt. With gloves on. I want to do more than make a call. I want to get rid of some of that garbage.
I'm tired of wondering if it's making the local soil and the creatures that live here sick.

Maybe one bag of garbage will make a difference, just like one phone call.

Next time, I am going to call immediately.