It is obvious when people take pride in their community. 

It is more obvious when they do not. 

Few things make a community look worse than litter. 

So, the Valdosta Police Department announced this week it will aggressively begin enforcing the city’s litter laws, issuing citations with fines ranging from nearly $200 to $700.

The department said it will have a zero-tolerance policy. 

We understand there are more important crimes that present a danger to both residents and to personal property, but enforcing these laws while not equally important is still very important for both quality of life and economic development. It goes beyond aesthetics. 

The litter problem in our town is just getting worse and it is not going to get better on its own. 

While Aaron Strickland and Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful do a good job with beautification efforts, the rate of litter is just too great to stay out in front of the problem all the time. 

Maybe if people get a few tickets and pay some hefty fines, it will stop those people and send a strong message to others. 

We don’t need new laws. There are good litter laws on the books. 

“It’s pointless to have these laws on the books if they are not enforced,” Strickland said. “So, this is a great thing.”

Current litter laws include:

— 40-6-249 Littering highway: “Any person littering a highway in violation of Part 2 of Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 16 or driving, moving, or loading for operation a vehicle in violation of Code Section 40-6-248.1 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in Code Section 16-7-43.”

— 16-7-43 Littering: “(a) It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to dump, deposit, throw, or leave or to cause or permit the dumping, depositing, placing, throwing, or leaving of litter on any public or private property in this state or any waters in this state, unless:

“(1) The area is designated by the state or by any of its agencies or political subdivisions for the disposal of litter and the person is authorized by the proper public authority to so use such area;

“(2) The litter is placed into a non-disposable litter receptacle or container designed for the temporary storage of litter and located in an area designated by the owner or tenant in lawful possession of the property; or

“(3) The person is the owner or tenant in lawful possession of such property or has first obtained consent of the owner or tenant in lawful possession or unless the act is done under the personal direction of the owner or tenant, all in a manner consistent with the public welfare.”

Fines for littering range from $196 to $675, depending on the offense circumstances, according to the VPD.

It should be remembered, by the way, there are cameras virtually everywhere. 

So, let’s see what happens when these laws are aggressively enforced. 

Here is an even better idea for those who don’t want to pay the fines — Stop littering.