Rose Jones pleads guilty.
At one point in her life, she would leave a fast food restaurant and see that someone “missed” the trash can.
“I would think, ‘that’s not my problem,’” Jones said.
She knows that many will be driving along and see someone throw trash out of their car window. It’s not their problem.
“I’d gotten tired of seeing all the trash on the highway,” Jones said. “That motivated me to do something.”
She realized, “It’s everybody’s problem. It could be a problem for our future generations.”
Jones was born and raised in Keokuk but lives in Hamilton, Ill., but she considers her area of concern anywhere along the river.
So she formed E.A.R.T.H. — Emergency Activist Recycling of the Tri-State Heart.
“I’m starting with the three river communities,” said Jones. “I want to plant a seed for people to see what we’re doing for our communities.
“Especially our rivers,” she said. “I can’t tell you how much trash gets pulled out of there. I would think most boaters would be more conscious of their actions.
“Here in Hamilton, we have a beach. When the tide comes in, some of the garbage from the river washes up.”
Weather washed out
first clean-up event
The first clean-up effort for E.A.R.T.H. was supposed to be at Devil’s Creek just west of Fort Madison and then on to Rodeo Park. But the bad weather canceled that.
Jessica Northrup of the new Vitality business will help the cause by spreading wildflower seeds — four indigenous plants — at Devil’s Creek, which will help the bee population.
Her plan is to go out from Sunday through Tuesday — her days off from work — and search for trash. “I’ll throw it away in the proper place or recycle,” Jones said.
By recycle, she doesn’t just mean paper products.
“I plan to collect glass on the beach and make art out of it; grind the glass down and make wind chimes,” Jones said.
“These could come in handy. You could create something out of these.”
Jones would like to make it a formal event where people make art out of the trash and try to sell it for a non-profit group.
“We need to get our act together and clean ourselves up,” she said.
Jones is hoping that among the people who don’t care are people who do. But, “If I’m the only one doing it, fine,” she said, quoting the adage, “If not now, when? If not me, who?”
Her scope may eventually extend farther down the Mississippi.
“I know some people in St. Louis that I hope to team up with,” Jones said.
