As a student in college, I've noticed how much of the city of Pocatello is polluted with trash and also have seen the lack of waste management. I want to speak on this problem we have because of the insufficient awareness of the pollution in the area. As someone who values the town of their college, I think it's important we keep our environment clear of trash and implement strategies to help clean our city. Therefore, this can be a further step into growing as a community to better our environment as a whole.

The people of Pocatello need to realize that we are only harming ourselves as this problem continues to grow. It's crucial we recognize the relationship between the well-being of the people in Pocatello and the pollution continuing to impact us negatively. It's very easy to address this issue, but it's another thing to take action upon it. A great alternative to this problem would be to inform the public what is really happening when the city is getting polluted with trash. This would help reduce the amount of people who litter, which then leads to the main pillar of the problem, the people's actions.

Within this semester of college so far, I've commuted to college and notice immense amount of trash throughout the city everyday. Although it does not affect an individual directly, it can cause harm to the environment by having plastic waste pollute the water and soil and can lead to clogged sewer drains. With the rise of the pollution, I also seek there to be economic consequences for the city. The city and waste management will continue to pick up after the public, and this can indirectly affect the funding for schools.

Thus far, I think the city of Pocatello continues to try and manage our waste, but not to the best of their ability. This is a topic I think we need to enforce on the public and that is the first step into noticing a change. Although this would help, I think the greatest positive impact would be to improve recycling. I strongly encourage community members to advocate for these actions to be taken. By working together, we have the power to create a healthier, cleaner environment and reduce the amount of pollution caused by trash.

Tony Flores, Shelley