Each spring, hundreds of volunteers give up a Saturday to pick up literally tons of trash all over Lawrence County.

From Ironton to Proctorville, school children, church groups, beautification and civic organizations took on that task again this past weekend.

Though Ironton, Lawrence Scioto Solid Waste Management District and many of the townships and villages had their own individual events, the effort to rid the county of litter was one of solidarity.

Despite the amount of trash that was collected this year, a few hundred volunteers can only accomplish so much in one day. That’s why the effort to clean up Lawrence County must be a year round project.

Simply keeping the streets in front of homes and businesses clean would go a long way in showing community pride.

Still, people can only do so much to combat the county’s litter problem. The people responsible for throwing garbage out of their car windows or leaving piles in alleyways must be held accountable. Littering is a crime and should be treated as such.

We applaud all the volunteers and organizations that came out to make Lawrence County a more beautiful place to live. We hope their efforts will not be in vain and that others will stop and think before they throw trash anywhere other than a proper receptacle.