The City of Valdosta is reminding residents about littering laws and for good reason — we have a serious littering problem.

Reminding people and even warning them is not the same as enforcing the law.

It’s time for more enforcement because the problem is not getting any better.

There is no hiding just how bad the problem is, all you have to do is open your eyes and you see it everywhere — along the roads, in drainage ditches, lining fences, along creeks and waterways, downtown, in neighborhoods along the roads, in shopping districts and even front yards.

It is not uncommon to see piles of worn-out automobile tires in yards or even broken down unregistered cars sitting along the road in front of houses.

City and county leaders, Valdosta Main Street and the chamber of commerce promote all the good things about our community but when our community just looks dirty all the promotion in the world is to no avail. Few things that make a community look worse than litter along the roadways, in the right of way, parking lots and even in yards.

We have strong litter laws, with fines ranging from nearly $200 to $700 but having those laws on the books has not been enough to make people stop littering.

Quite honestly, it should not take laws and fines to make us clean up after ourselves but unfortunately it is probably going to take some hefty fines to make any difference at all.

The litter problem is not going to get better on its own. Law enforcement, unfortunately, will have to to step up enforcement of litter laws already on the books.

Our litter laws say:

“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: 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; 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 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 circumstances of the offense.

The police department and sheriff’s office should substantially increase enforcement of littering and dumping laws.

Of course, there is a much more simple, less costly solution — just pick up after yourselves. Or even better yet, just stop littering.