Locking up litterbugs?

Recently, the mayor of the small town of Sikeston, Mo. decided he wants the local police department to throw litter bugs into jail for their offenses. That seems pretty harsh. Who hasn’t from time to time left a wrapper on the floor or failed to pick up a paper blown away by the wind? How would you feel about being hauled to the slammer for such a thing?\nWe here at the Editorial Board recognize that anyone who litters is pretty uncool, but by placing people in jails, it seems like Mayor Mike Marshall is going a bit overboard. The mayor has no real evidence that littering is more prevalent or destructive in Sikeston than it is in any other town in the United States. Instead, his reasoning hinges solely on frustration. “It drives me crazy,” Mayor Marshall said. “It just aggravates me.” \nNow, considering the ongoing obsession with improving the environment, we do applaud the mayor’s eagerness to do something. However, jail time for those who drop a gum wrapper or throw an empty cup on the ground – actions that should definitely be frowned upon – is a major waste of time and resources.\nThere’s a very good chance that by the time the “criminals” have been processed, placed in a cell and fed throughout their incarceration, the energy used on everything from powering the computer during processing to heating the inmate’s cell will surpass whatever damage a Styrofoam cup would do to the environment.\nIt seems like we’re always hearing about the lack of space in many prisons across the country, so it doesn’t make much sense that law enforcement and the government would only further this problem by incarcerating those who litter. Moreover, the financial cost of keeping someone in prison definitely isn’t cheap; imagine the price of incarcerating a serial litter bug.\nFinally, the more stringent policies on littering would most likely require that law enforcement officials devote more time to tracking and policing people that may or may not litter. It’s fairly difficult to know when a person is going to suddenly throw something out their car window or miss the trash can at the park, so the police would either have to incessantly follow people or simply be in the right place at the right time. Again, this just isn’t a worthwhile use of the time and resources of the police department.\nInstead, the Editorial Board suggests to Mayor Marshall and anyone else who might be inclined to employ these tactics to look into greater enforcement of fines. Instead of shelling out money to hold litter bugs in jails, hefty fines and maybe even community service for the perpetrators seems much more economical. And practical. After all, nothing will teach people not to litter more than making them write a several-hundred-dollar check or pick up pounds of trash with a stick.