To be litter-free
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RE "MORE money for less litter" (Editorial, May 15): You attempt to link improving recycling programs within the Commonwealth to reducing the epidemic of bottles, cups, food packaging, cigarette butts, candy wrappers, paper napkins, plastic bags, and other trash littering our streets, sidewalks, and front lawns. Although I strongly support any efforts that increase recycling, I don't believe the initiatives as proposed by the Globe will make a dent in this "annual crop of new litter."
The litter crop is not annual; it is perennial and persistent (for example, on any day, take a look at the area around our bus stops). Certainly expansion of curbside recycling and deposits on all glass and plastic bottles will help reduce waste from homes and businesses. But those programs are not likely to do much for our streets and sidewalks. I simply don't see many of us carrying our empty coffee cup or tea bottle on the bus until we get to the office trash can or recycling bin.
A portion of the $40 million in unclaimed deposits should go toward funding a major public anti-littering campaign. In the 1960s, Lady Bird Johnson called for a beautification of America's public roadways. Her anti-littering campaign led to a change in public consciousness, and for many years this kept our public spaces relatively trash free.
Combined with prominent and widespread public recycling containers, a strong educational effort could once again have a major impact on improving our public spaces.
Cecilia Lenk, Watertown 
