Washington resident Chris Hall wants the city to do a better of job of fighting litter.

Hall, who lives at the corner of East 11^th and Bonner streets, made her appeal to the Washington City Council during its meeting Monday.

“I can’t believe I agree with the county commissioner Richardson, but I see littering as a real issue that Washington needs to address. … I can go outside my front door and the corner I live on and pick up trash on a daily basis, which I do,” Hall said. “I don’t think we need to reinvent the wheel. I bet other communities have addressed this issue successfully. I think we need to get the whole community involved in improving the appearance of our town.”

Commissioner Hood Richardson, at the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners Dec. 4 meeting, broached the subject of littering, citing the amount of trash that covers county roadsides and the need for a county ordinance to prevent people from littering. Richardson said he wants that ordinance to be enforced by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

The board asked County Manager Brian Alligood to find out what anti-littering ordinances other counties use to reinforce state littering laws.

Hall said she believes fighting litter can be done without involving law enforcement involved. “If we make this a sense of pride and community spirit, it can be done. If we could make folks responsible for the area in which they live and their neighborhood, it would go a long way to improve the appearance of our town,” she said.

Hall suggested asking area businesses to sponsor area cleanups. “The Realtors would probably love to have a community that looks nicer,” she said.

Area Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts could conduct campaigns to pick up litter, rewarding them for those efforts with pizza parties.

“I know money is tight, but I think this can be done with very little outlay,” she said.

Hall said she believes there should be a commandment against littering: “Thou shall not litter.”

“I would like the City Council to seriously consider this issue and promote it,” Hall said.

Mayor Mac Hodges asked Hall what types of litter she picks up. “I pick up anything from beer bottles to food containers to Styrofoam cups, just loose paper that people throw out. I pick up all sorts of trash around the street that I live. There’s no need for it,” she said.

Hodges said he understands Hall’s concern. “It amazes me that there’s a (fast-food) box two feet from a trash can, and you (a litterer) can reach over and stick it in,” Hodges said.