Let’s show respect for our communities and take pride in our wildlife! Having just returned from a 5,200 mile road-trip from New Jersey through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and home again I was impressed with the lack of litter along highways, at rest areas, in parks, and in towns and cities everywhere throughout my travels. Now back at work in New Jersey, I am compelled to photograph and document the horrible conditions here in New Jersey. (Photo included of the NJ Transit bus station in Newfoundland.) I called West Milford Department of Public Works about the situation and additional photos were taken the following day on July 13 to document the same horrible litter conditions. Though for years the garbage and litter has been very often a problem along “Old Route 23” area in Newfoundland, I wonder why town councils, state government, and transit authorities here have not taken the simple and effective measures to prevent animals’ (bears, raccoons, crows, dogs) access to our food waste in trash and recycling bins. Every establishment in “bear country” ought to do the same, all businesses whose employees dispose of food in dumpsters, restaurants, deli’s, and schools included. I asked NJ Transit to install bear-proof trash and recycling bins as soon as possible at their Newfoundland parking lot and at every NJ Transit facility where bears may be attracted to the trash. I look forward to your comments regarding this issue. It is my pleasure to report that within an hour of notifying NJ Transit of this problem, Anthony Greco, director of customer service, called me to say that he was dispatching someone today to examine the situation and clean-up any litter (though I told him David Stires of West Milford DPW had already taken care of this on July 13) and that he and NJ Transit’s vice president of bus operations would be contacting West Milford Township in order to provide a more suitable if only temporary solution to these inadequate receptacles. We both agreed that nothing less than bear-proof trash and recycling bins would provide a permanent solution to this on-going litter problem. I would like to thank NJ Transit for their prompt response and I’m sure that NJ Transit and West Milford will solve this problem. Susan Stringfield Highland Lakes, N.J. This letter was sent to Governor Chris Christie and several New Jersey Transit board members.