On Memorial Day, cemeteries are decorated with mountains of flowers and other decorations. It is a beautiful and peaceful feeling for those decorating the graves and others just passing by. A week or so after every Memorial Day, cemetery workers load dump trucks and bins full of decorations to be hauled to landfills.
Cemetery workers could take the time to separate the trash and recycle it, but many cemeteries don’t have the time, staff or resources to complete such a large task.
Utah is famous for the way the people come together and volunteer. What is needed is a new community effort to recycle after Memorial Day.
Counties, cities and other cemetery owners could provide the bins, trucks and supervision for an annual cleanup. Adults, youth and even children would volunteer to pick up the decorations and separate them to be recycled and reused, if they were just asked.
The first week of June is the start of summer vacation for hundreds of thousands of Utah students. It is also the start of vacation season for their parents and neighbors. What better way to honor those buried in the cemeteries than cleaning up afterward.
Jim Jones, Bountiful
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