The document discusses pollution problems in Morrisville, North Carolina caused by local restaurants and landscaping companies. Garbage from restaurants near a shopping center is polluting nearby parks and streams when trash bags rupture during dumping. Landscaping companies also blow debris into wooded areas instead of collecting it. The author argues stronger protocols are needed, like requiring trash compactors or stronger bags for restaurants and fines for landscapers that leave debris. This would help reduce pollution and maintain Morrisville's image as an upscale suburban area.

1. Running head: COMPELLED 1
Compelled: Ending pollution in Morrisville, North Carolina
Chris Harden
November 11, 2013

2. COMPELLED 2
Chris Harden
Professor Johnson
English Composition II E.S. 102
November 11, 2013
Compelled: Ending pollution in Morrisville, North Carolina
I enjoy taking leisurely walks through the park behind the condominium where I live.
There is much greenery and wildlife there even though there are three baseball fields and a
soccer field on the left side of the park. But when I walk over one of the bridges that cross a
small stream I see plastic bottles, paper plates and other garbage in the water. Unfortunately, it
gets worse as I leave the trail and head towards the Morrisville Market Place shopping center
where there is a McDonalds, Smithfield Chicken and Barbeque, Baskin Robbins, and now a
Wal-Mart grocery store. The park trail empties to the rear of the shopping center and down a hill
towards apartments and condominiums is garbage. When Wal-Mart opened I was concerned that
there would be even more pollution released into the environment, but Wal-Mart has protocols to
ensure that their garbage does not pollute the area. Therefore, similar or better garbage removal
protocols should be utilized to prevent the area from being polluted.
To illustrate, when trash bags are dumped from the dumpster into the garbage truck, some
trash bags rupture and garbage falls onto the ground. Wal-Mart uses a trash compactor to keep
all of its garbage contained. It would be beneficial to the environment for these companies to use
trash compactors rather than dumpsters and garbage trucks because all of the garbage leaves in
one container rather than being dumped into a truck where some bags tear open and others fall to
the side and are left behind for animals to rummage through.

3. COMPELLED 3
On the other hand, these restaurants argue that there is not enough space for each of them
to have their own trash compactor, many are franchisees who cannot afford to lease a trash
compactor, and a shared trash compactor would be impractical because it would be difficult to
determine which restaurants would pay what portion of the bill.
Additionally, landscaping companies use backpack blowers to blow garbage into the grass
and woodland areas instead of collecting the garbage. Some residents complain that it is
irresponsible for the landscapers to leave cups, bottles, food containers, and other garbage in the
environment when it is their responsibility to clean up the area in the first place. These
landscaping companies argue that the cost of the additional manpower and equipment required to
collect the garbage would be passed on to the Morrisville taxpayer.
No doubt, this pollution is a terrible eyesore and reflects badly upon Morrisville’s image
as an “upscale suburban” area of North Carolina. If the restaurants in the Morrisville Market
Place shopping center cannot afford to utilize trash compactors then stronger trash bags could be
an alternative, this way it is less likely that trash bags will rupture.
Also, the landscape companies should be held responsible for leaving debris in the
environment. Landscape companies that do leave pollution behind should be fined. Overall, to
keep Morrisville looking pristine, these protocols should be implemented as soon as possible.