By 8:30 a.m. Friday, Richard Lodwick, a local optometrist, already had several pounds of trash stuffed into his bright orange trash bag.
Walking along the side of the narrow Greensprings Road, Lodwick used a grabbing tool to pick up cigarette butts and years-old bottles, some buried beneath layers of leaves.
“The cigarette butts take the longest,” Lodwick said. “They’re everywhere, and they’re so small.”
Above Lodwick, a blue sign towered over the edge of the road, reading “Adopt A Highway — Williamsburg Eye Care, Drs. Lundberg & Lodwick.”
Lodwick, a 44-year-old optometrist from Ohio, moved to Williamsburg with his family after they fell in love with the area’s beauty. Now, he wants to keep it that way.
“We all live here,” he said, picking up a rusted can.
Even after a hurricane
The Lodwick family moved to Williamsburg after Hurricane Isabel ravaged the Virginia coast in 2003.
At the time, Lodwick has practiced optometry in Ohio on the south shore of Lake Erie, but he and his wife wanted more.
“We wanted a shorter winter,” he said. “We sail, so we also wanted to be by the water. Williamsburg is a small college town right by the bay.”
Even after a hurricane, the family thought Williamsburg was beautiful.
“Despite the downed trees, we loved it,” he added.
The family moved to Berkeley’s Green just after Christmas, and Lodwick became a partner at Williamsburg Eye Care on Bulifants Boulevard.
Optometrist Richard Lodwick spends some of his days picking up trash along Greensprings Road in James City County. (Sarah Fearing/WYDaily)
All in the family
The Lodwick’s children are all teenagers now, but they were taught about community service early in life.
When the children were young — about 3, 4 and 7 years old — Lodwick took them out onto a trail around their neighborhood, Berkeley’s Green, and they picked up litter as a family.
His children still remember the experience, he said.
“It’s being a valuable member of society,” he said. “We want to show the kids the importance of doing the same for their community.”
After the family moved to a home off Greensprings Road, Lodwick quickly noticed the amount of litter along Greensprings Road — and a blank “Adopt A Highway” sign near the intersection of John Tyler Highway.
“I thought ‘What better place to take care of than right here,’” he recounted. “This was one of the first miles or our country — it’s so close to Jamestown.”
Lodwick contacted the Virginia Department of Transportation to adopt the area of Greensprings Road, which was free except for the future time he committed to road cleanup.
The doctor had VDOT emblazon the eye care practice’s name on the sign. Since then, Lodwick has involved his staff in the cleanups, and returns to the road three or four times a year.
A dire need
Litter is a problem throughout Hampton Roads, and it takes a village to keep it clean.
In an area surrounded by water, litter is especially damaging to the environment, Dawn Oleksy, James City County’s environmental coordinator and committee chair of the askHRgreen.org recycling & beautification committee, said during an interview with Local Voice, WYDaily’s parent company.
James City County borders both the York and James River, and has countless streams. Runoff carries the trash to the rivers, then to the Chesapeake Bay.
Wayne Jones, another chair of the askHRgreen.org recycling & beautification committee, added that almost $12 billion is spent annually in the United States to clean up litter.
Litter also devalues properties by about 7 percent., according to Jones.
“If you’ve ever taken part in a cleanup, straws and cigarette butts will drive you crazy,” Jones said.
Keeping up the care
While the litter inevitably piles back up — and drivers fly by and sometimes don’t see his bright orange vest — Lodwick remains driven to cause change.
“I don’t mind the bottles and cans, but it’s the cigarette butts that upset me the most,” he said. “People don’t realize those aren’t biodegradable
Cigarette butts are the most common type of litter in the world, according to the World Health Organization.
Lodwick also hopes that as time passes, drivers drive more carefully as they pass him on the side of the road. Often, drivers don’t see him in his safety vest.
For the 44-year-old optometrist, the risks on the road are 100 percent worth it.
“On that stretch, bikers and joggers will go by and say ‘Thank you,’” he said. “I almost don’t know what to say.”
Interested in getting involved in James City County? Visit askhrgreen.org and sign up for Team Up 2 Clean Up.
Fearing can be reached at [email protected].
