‘Leaders Against Litter’ to address growing problem

As part of a statewide program, the Cade Community Center will be the site of the fourth annual “Leaders Against Litter” event on Friday, March 10, starting at 9 a.m.
Hosted by Keep Louisiana Beautiful and Volunteer Louisiana, the gathering will draw attention to the litter crisis and back it up with action.
Local political, business and civic leaders will meet for a presentation, then take part in a clean-up of the Cade Park, Community Center area and Smede Highway. Cade is one of 29 communities in Louisiana chosen by the organizers to participate in the program.
The participating public figures will be asked to sign a pledge to “speak up, pick up and stand up” on a continuing basis to help put an end to the problem of litter in South Louisiana. At 2 p.m., event organizers in Baton Rouge will announce the amount of trash picked up and the number of pledges signed at the different locations in the state.
Roadsides and public areas in the parish have gotten steadily more littered since the Sheriff’s Office stopped providing trusty clean up crews more than a year ago.
A proposal is working its way through the state legislature to allow low-level offenders to pick up litter as an alternative to incarceration and fines. But even if that proposal passes, the solutions to the litter problem will mostly be in the hands of parish residents.
One way to help is by taking part in volunteer clean-up events organized by Project Front Yard, the Teche Project and others.
St. Martinville resident Larry Roy’s 20/20 Challenge is another way. Roy’s challenge is for residents to spend 20 minutes a week picking up litter somewhere within 20 miles of their home.
Organizers hope Friday’s event in Cade will encourage local leaders to bring their influence to the fight against litter in St. Martin Parish.