Keep Modesto litter-free

Recently, a large group of volunteers picked up trash on Ninth Street. We did this so that 3,000 runners in the Modesto Marathon will get a good impression of Modesto as they run the course. Many of these runners are visitors to the city. The Surgical Artistry Modesto Marathon will be held on Sunday.

The good news is that recycling seems to work; hardly any aluminum cans were found.

The bad news is that lots of coffee cups and other hot- and cold-drink cups were found. Plastic shopping bags are still a common item, caught in the bushes and trees. Maybe we should adopt one of those paper bag-only ordinances.

As we have sadly come to expect, lots of cigarette butts and packets were found.

It is probably only a small part of our community that still litters. But to those people: Please don't!

After our volunteers finished, the street looked visibly better. Let's hope they can stay that way.

ADRIAN CRANE

Modesto