Litter at Belle Isle: Harmful to More than the Environment

The litter at Belle Isle is bad for the park in many ways

By Jessica Porter

Most Richmond residents who visit Belle Isle have seen the large amounts of litter left on the ground. This litter can not only make a trip to the park less enjoyable, but harm the river itself.

The James River Park System includes 550 acres along the shore of the river in the Richmond area and employees of the JRPS work hard to keep the parks clean. However, with only two employees for Pony Pasture, Belle Isle and Ancarrows Landing (the three most popular parks), clean up is hard to manage.

“The impact of the litter on the river is negligible, but the impact of the litter on users of the river is large,” said Ralph White, manager of the James River Park. White said the primary type of trash left behind is beer bottles and cans.

White said the litter at Belle Isle is a case of “people affecting people” because tourists come to see the beauty of the river, but their trip is less enjoyable because of the trash left behind by others.

“Litter at Belle Isle affects my trip because people don't respect the land and barely use the trash cans. However, the trash cans tend to overflow quite easily,” said Ariel Maloof, a freshman at VCU who regularly goes to Belle Isle. “I try to focus on the river and not the litter, even though it makes me mad.”

The trash left on the ground is sometimes left by young people, but White said many young people are responsible enough to pick up their trash.

“If we put lots of trashcans, people tend to use them. Anyplace we find litter we put a trashcan,” said White, “If there is less stuff on the ground people tend to keep stuff off the ground.” The JRPS has also raised the bar by adding recycling bins.

With only two employees and 600,000 annual visitors, keeping the parks clean is a huge task only possible through volunteers. Volunteers put the trashcans in the parks and help clean up the litter on the ground.

The James River Outdoor Coalition was founded to help make improvements to the river possible in the Richmond area. They try to help the JRPS employees keep the parks clean and litter free.

“When visitors and tourists come to Belle Isle, we want them focusing on the beauty of their environment. We’d prefer that they concentrate on the Blue Heron and the school of American Shad, rather than a plastic bottle floating between them,” said Brian Mutchler, president of the JROC.

Volunteers come from all around Richmond. Many are from schools like VCU, University of Richmond and even high schools. They also come from church and civic organizations. White stressed the importance of these volunteers coming to keep the park clean.