Leticia McRae started cleaning up Juneau over ten years ago when she saw trash and litter ruining the quality of her photographs.
She has a passionate passion for protecting our land and water. She says that Juneau’s dump is increasing disposal fees, which she believes is a hindrance to her efforts.
McRae spoke to Chloe Pleznac, KTOO’s Chloe Pleznac, about her Juneau Community Clean Up In Progress Project.
This interview was edited to be more concise and clear.
Leticia McRae – My husband Dave McCray died over 20 years ago. He was a carpenter. We had plans for our daughter’s graduation. With a lot of tools, we would travel across the country to buy houses and flip them. This was before the idea of flipping houses was common. While we were working, we also offered to help the community, free of charge, for those who needed it. We could fix broken windows or stairs. Or maybe paint a couple’s house.
The dream was lost with him when he passed away. Through my photography and my hikes, I started to notice all the trash in Juneau. I decided that trash was where I should start. However, picking up trash was a much more difficult task than I had anticipated.
Chloe Pleznac – What was the community’s response to this time? Are you receiving any help from outside people or volunteers?
Leticia McRae: You know, I do. There are some truly great people in our community. While I don’t work for a non-profit, I am just trying to be part of my community and help my neighbors. There are many fine people in my town who trust me and they follow this page. Sometimes I get donations through PayPal and Venmo. Sometimes people will ask for my address and send me donations. To help cover the cost, people have purchased items from Amazon’s wishlist, such as gloves, garbage bags, and other similar items. Everyone thinks that picking up litter or volunteering to pick it up is easy. It’s not difficult, but it can be expensive. There are 60 miles of road. It is thrown on the other side.
It takes gas, time, maintenance, and the cost to dispose of trash. This is now a major concern for me. I used to be able go to the dump to get rid of a load of trash for $49. Now it will go up to $120. And I’m aware of how it will affect me. How will it affect the already struggling members of our community? How will it increase the number of dump piles we already see?
Chloe Pleznac: So, mentioning cost. Residents must pay to dispose of their waste at the landfill which is privately owned. This was something that surprised me when I moved to the area in September. You don’t have to pay anything to dispose of hazardous material in my hometown. The landfill recently announced an increase in its pricing. Can you tell us a bit more?
Leticia McRae, how do you pay? Although I don’t have a lot of money, I do want to make a difference. Because Juneau is so fortunate, I want Juneau to stay clean. We live in a magical place. It’s amazing to look up at the night sky at night. This is what most people pay a lot of money to see. Wildlife that we see is something most people will never see. We are truly, really fortunate to be able to experience this kind of wildlife. We need to keep it this way. We expect tourists to visit our country. We don’t do it right. Why is this?
Chloe Pleznac – You shared online that you are worried about not being able to carry on your community cleanup efforts in the new year. This is a concern.
Leticia McRae says: It’s all about the cost. It’s simple to make 50 dollars with a dump that costs 50 bucks. If you’re like me, you do this with the time you have. It will be hard at $120 per load.
Chloe Pleznac With all these things, what give you hope?
Leticia McRae – There are people who reach out to help and I would not be able make as big an impact without them. This helps fuel the desire to continue. It’s when people notice and appreciate your efforts.
