From a Hillside Drive resident
On Sat. Oct. 13, we helped clean up our neighborhood parks, thanks to all who attended. Great job! Those of us that cleaned up Pimmit View Park noticed something odd about the trash we were collecting from the woods and the creek. There was a lot of bagged dog poop that had been thrown into the woods or creek! So, what is the point of picking up after your dog if you are just going to harm the environment and possibly kill wildlife by putting it in plastic bags and throwing it in the creek?
We all know that cleaning up after our pets is good manners, and for the health of all of us. Animals can carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans via infected feces or (which is why we scoop the poop) contaminated soil. Examples are hookworms, roundworms, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and Salmonella. We don’t want the streams infected with parasites. Where does our drinking water come from? The parks are equipped with trash cans, and you don’t have to walk very far before coming across a trash can, so USE THEM.
Plastic bags are their own environmental hazard, as they don’t decompose, and they just break into smaller and smaller pieces. Accordingly it is much safer for wildlife if, after you pick up the poop, you dispose of the waste in an appropriate trash receptacle. Left in the creek, it affects the flow of water, and wildlife can be injured by ingesting the plastic, or getting stuck in the plastic. Wildlife can also be infected by these parasites, causing illness and death.
-resident of Hillside Drive
