Why is the dump so close to river?

Do you ever go down near the river and look up in the woods and see garbage in the forest and wonder “Where is this garbage coming from?”

It is coming from the town dump. I am writing this letter to you to ask if you could please move the dump yard away from the river. This would not only be better for you and me but also very helpful for the whole town.

Why, you ask? Because if something were to happen to the dump, all the garbage would tumble down into the river. It will pollute the river and harm the wildlife. It will also make the river an unhealthy habitat.

The river is a beautiful place full of wildlife that help our environment grow and be healthy. But if the dump accidentally drops some waste near the forest side, the trash goes tumbling into the river and the oil and dirty rags and broken glass will kill our fish, plant life and the macroinvertebrates by polluting the water. If the macroinvertebrates die, there will be less food for the fish to feed on and there will be no more fish.

Another reason is that people go down to the river with their family dogs and many kids go to the river during summer camp. So if the trash makes the river an unhealthy habitat, fewer people will go down to the river to play and fish. It also means some people will move and rebuild their houses somewhere away from the river and they may go and travel out of Vermont.

You might say that this is the only place that we know of to put the dump and it’s in a place where everybody lives. But to me, its location can affect the river. It may seem preposterous to you that we should move the dump, but I’m looking at the greater good for the town so that we can live in a healthy environment so that people don’t look around at the dead plants and animals and say, “Wow, this place is a mess; I can’t believe that I wanted to stay here.”

I don’t want that to happen and I’m sure you don’t either, so I’m speaking for both of us, please move the dump yard away from the river. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Rosalyn Trowbridge

Stowe fifth-grader

Edited for length.