Torsten Wiedemann, Mullumbimby
In our society of greed driven adults and selfish youths we have left so many community tasks up to various levels of government, but then complain about the increasing rates and taxes. It is bad enough many people feel unashamed about littering, but then all of us (including those who don’t litter) have to pay for the cleanup crews. We are so used to having these things done for us that we have disconnected from the financial and social value they embody.
So every time I see my neighbour Greg walk the kilometre between the Mullum showgrounds and his home with a shopping bag that he stuffs with the litter he picks up off the grass along the way, my heart fills with gratitude and my wallet thanks him for keeping the council rates down just that little bit.
I don’t know how often he does it, because I only see it if I happen to drive past while he is doing it, but I spot him out there every few weeks. And more importantly I rarely see a piece of litter on that stretch of road. So his effort is at least equal to the need. If we all did little things like that our environment and social cohesion would surely improve and we’d be good role models for an increasingly disconnected youth.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
