Have you ever noticed a charming couple strolling through Montreal Woods with a handy extension pole and grocery bags to pickup litter? That's Gerald Robison and his lovely wife Emilu Bailes! I recently had the opportunity to interview Emilu and Gerald for our web site. How did you get started with litter pickup? We became involved the second month we arrived in Montreal Woods in July 2009. We had previously led a team of 40 family units in de-littering the Turtle Cove Community, Jackson Lake, Jasper County, when we lived there. We contacted "Keep DeKalb Beautiful" when we learned that the county has a litter pickup program Where do you walk? We clean up 18 streets in Montreal Woods and the area of Twin Lakes east of the Emory Hospital off Johns and Sapp Roads. What you do is an important service but it's certainly no cake walk! What motivates you to walk the neighborhood, especially when the weather can be very cold or very hot? Our main motivation is simply for the walking exercise. We pick up litter because we are going to be walking anyway. We also cringe when we see litter in our community, either when we drive or walk. The fact that the community benefits from our efforts is important, but secondary. We mainly do it for our own visual satisfaction. And thank you so much for doing it! Keeping our neighborhood clean is important for many other reasons, too! Litter is bad for public health. It also puts wildlife in danger and lowers property values. Hopefully others will be inspired to do their part. Have you noticed any patterns with litter? For example, is garbage more common during certain months of the year? Litter does not seem to have pattern months but does have pattern days, especially weekends and certain holidays like Independence Day. The litter had lightened up somewhat due to people staying at home from the coronavirus. However, littering has now resumed with a vengeance even though we are far from being free from the disease. Huge amounts of little stuff joins the larger items. Much cellophane and other light materials add to our endeavors. We treat aluminum cans separately and give these to friends who donate them to a charitable organization for which they receive recycling credits. People sometimes find coins on the street. Do you? We often find pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. We find an occasional $1 bill and less often a $5. We have found two $10 bills and three $20 bills in the 11 1/2 years we have been doing this. Can you tell us about some of the more interesting or more unusual trash that you've ever found? Some of the more interesting things we have encountered include tires, filled baby diapers, porn magazines and DVD's, whole suitcases, bags of clothes and lots of used condoms. We occasionally find a lost billfold with identification so that we can return it to its owner. Wow! Those are interesting items and some are certainly conversation starters. Thank goodness you have those handy pole extensions for grabbing the litter. If others would also like to help, how can they get involved? Just visit Keep DeKalb Beautiful, call (404) 294-2010 or email [email protected]. You can sign up for participation online. You can also schedule an appointment to visit their center where you can acquire free pickup equipment, large orange bags for big litter jobs, and yellow vests to help drivers see you. Can you estimate how much litter you've removed over the years? Yes! We are required to send the county a report of our litter data every three months and we also keep a cumulative record of our work. Checking today, I see the total is at least 19 tons of litter since the start of our volunteering. I say "at least" because the county uses pounds of litter as the measure which does not credit us with the millions of virtually weightless items we have gathered. After all, "Every litter bit hurts!" That's the slogan from a litter campaign many years ago featuring the late singer Jimmy Dean. No relation to the sausage company. Many thanks to Gerald and Emilu for participating in this interview.
Next time you see Gerald and Emilu, feel free to say hello and thank them! Of course, the best way to express your appreciation might be to help pickup any garbage you see lying around. Let's keep Montreal Woods beautiful and free of litter bugs!
9 Comments
LARRY BING
12/10/2020 12:45:11 pm
I really appreciate that they do this for our community. It makes such a difference in the appearance of our neighborhood. Thanks so much.
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Judy Muller
12/10/2020 02:02:50 pm
Thanks so much Emilu and Gerald!
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Greg Bautista
12/10/2020 02:07:10 pm
Wow -- 19 tons! Thanks for everything you do. You have inspired me to carry extra baggies with me whenever I walk my dog to remove the various candy wrappers, discarded envelopes and other litter that I occasionally encounter.
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Shelia Chen
12/10/2020 03:00:21 pm
Many thanks to Emilu and Gerald!
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Grant Jones
12/10/2020 03:11:35 pm
Thanks Gerald and Emilu! Lucky to have such lovely neighbors!
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Marie Bosler
12/10/2020 07:25:44 pm
Your work is commendable! Thank you very much!
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Laura Rose
12/11/2020 05:48:09 am
Emilu and Gerald, you two rock! Your dedication to beautifying the neighborhood is inspiring!
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April Hare
12/11/2020 06:34:24 am
Wow, that's wonderful there's an article about these folks and it's quiet interesting info! I've noticed they also do a great job with decorating our neighborhood and making it look festive as well! Much applause and appreciation to Emilu and Gerald!
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Tim Parks
12/12/2020 05:40:12 am
Absolutely inspiring neighbors. Well done!!
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