Local Litter

The truth about local litter: Its dangers, how students can help

Alexandra DeMarco, Editor-in-Chief

Fort Sanders is known not only for its plethora of convenient student housing; it is also infamous for having a lot of trash.

In fact, the trash found in the Fort is so odd and plentiful that there is an entire Instagram account dedicated to what students fi nd in the area. @Fort_Sanders_Artifacts, the page publishes photos of strange trash in the Fort, submitted by students and other residents. Everything from toilets and mattresses to pianos and blenders has been featured. Although the sites in the Fort are often amusing, one has to wonder about the environmental impact of the litter in the area. After all, even funny trash is not exempt from causing environmental problems.

One group aiming to combat litter in Knoxville is Keep Knoxville Beautiful. The group was founded in 1978 by fi ve entities with the goal of preparing the city for the 1982 World’s Fair. Originally called the Greater Knoxville Beautifi cation Board, the group changed its name in the 1990s to fi t with the greater national affi liate Keep America Beautiful, which was gaining popularity at the time.

Keep Knoxville Beautiful arranges sustainability efforts around the city, including trash and litter clean up days.

Alanna McKissack, the executive director of Keep Knoxville Beautiful, originally joined the organization though Americorps. She explained the scope of Tennessee’s litter problem.

“The state of Tennessee spends about $15 million a year just on litter pickup and prevention, so there’s a lot of efforts going on, but it’s a huge issue, whether it’s from intentional throwing out of stuff or unintentional things just fl ying out of your car,” McKissack said.

Litter is dangerous to both humans and wildlife; it can spread disease and

bacteria to humans and poses a risk to wildlife who mistake it for food. In fact, even human food left unattended poses a threat to wildlife.

“It’s obviously not good for their diet,” McKissack said. “It just can be very harmful to them, one, if they’re eating things they’re not supposed to, or if they’re eating toxic materials such as plastic. … It can really harm them.” Additionally, with rainfall, litter and pollution eventually make their way into the river system -- and then into the ocean.

Here in Knoxville, microplastics pose a particular issue to local waterways. A study by German Professor Andreas Fath found that the Tennessee River has the highest levels of microplastics in the world -- more than multiple infamously polluted rivers, such as the Rhine River in Europe and the Yangtze River in China. “Microplastics are essentially the small fragments of plastic that have ended up in the water breaking down but can’t break down completely, so you do have those small pieces, and that can be anything from a plastic bottle to a grocery bag,” McKissack said.

Ingesting these plastics poses a threat to both humans and animals.

In an interview with WVLT, Sewanee professor Martin Knoll, who worked with Fath on the project, expressed his

concern for the health of both animals and humans who ingest the river’s water.

"People that drink Tennessee River water, and that's a lot of people, Knoxville, Huntsville and Chattanooga, might ingest some microplastics, too, and we just don't know what these microplastics' impact is in humans,” Knoll said.

Additionally, larger pieces of litter are harmful as well. McKissack said that although Keep Knoxville Beautiful sees a variety of trash on its clean-ups, some of the most common items are drink containers, such as beer bottles, red solo cups and cups from fast food restaurants. These kinds of items accumulate in a variety of ways; the wind may have blown away the trash from a picnic, and people just failed to pick it up. And sometimes, of course, litter is unintentionally left behind, whether from a lack of caring or forgetfulness. “Obviously, those are, to me, not good excuses, but it is what you see,” McKissack said.

In fact, keeping an eye on drink and food residue is a great way to eliminate trash in Fort Sanders in particular.

“Just be conscious of what you’re doing. If you have a drink or something, don’t set it down and walk away,” McKissack said. “Make sure you keep it in your hand. Any food items, those are also litter. … Food is still considered litter.”

In general, being conscientious of one’s trash is benefi cial in preventing littering, McKissack said. For example, ensure that your trash is bagged before placing it in a bin. Don’t deposit trash in bins that are overfl owing, and let others know if they drop something. And, if you have the chance to safely pick up litter, take the opportunity to do so.

“A good thing is always to just be aware of your surroundings, making sure if you have loose items on you you’re keeping them secure when you’re throwing stuff away,” McKissack said.

McKissack added that organizing a cleanup -- among roommates, with friends or through an organization -- is a great way for students to keep the Fort’s trash under control. Keep Knoxville Beautiful has clean up supplies which students are welcome to borrow as well.

“We’re very thankful for the students at UT,” McKissack said. “UT provides a great amount of our volunteer base, so we are thankful that those that live in Knoxville and those coming to Knoxville are willing to take part in helping the community.”

To get involved, check out KeepKnoxvilleBeautiful.org for information about upcoming events and other sustainability efforts.

Trash in Fort Sanders Hugh Dupree / The Daily Beacon