Man picks up litter for 20 years

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - With the sun barely risen and dew still on the ground, William Dando walks along Carlisle Road on Terre Haute’s south side early Wednesday morning.

Every few paces, he stops and, with use of a mechanical “grabber,” picks up pieces of litter from the roadside.

For more than 20 years, he’s kept this habit, often gathering 100 pounds of trash in a week.

“I’ve found shells for pistols, I’ve found Bibles … pay stubs, photographs … bottles, pop cans, beer cans, whiskey bottles … napkins galore,” Dando said.

Dando, a retired geology professor at Indiana State University, has published more than 25 books and dozens of scholarly articles. He said walking and picking up garbage give him a chance to clear his mind while writing.

“You’ve got to get the words flowing in your mind,” Dando said. “You’ve got to get them cogitating and linking together.”

Despite the benefits of his time outdoors, Dando said he is often frustrated by the bulk of litter that winds up along his road.

“There’s a lot of good things that come out of this area, but when (visitors) come along Carlisle here, and they see the trash … it doesn’t create a very good impression,” Dando said. “It’s a shame we don’t have the civic pride we should have.”

Still, Dando points out that several of his neighbors also work to clear the garbage left by passing motorists.

“I know along this road there are a lot of people who are out there doing the same thing I’m doing,” Dando said. “They take a stretch, and there’s nothing organized, but they do their job.”

For his efforts to keep his neighborhood clean, Dando has been awarded the Make A Difference Award by News 10 and Frontier Communications.