I have a simple solution to an uncomplicated problem -- litter.

Letters to the editor, calls to talk shows and street and shop talk from grieving Pittsburghers frequently suggest that one way we can honor the late Mayor Bob O'Connor is to keep his Redd Up campaign alive. They want to see the leadership and visible progress the mayor brought to the city's neighborhoods continue.

Boris Weinstein, a retired marketing executive, is head of Citizens Against Litter (boris.weinstein@verizon.net).

Mayor O'Connor combined two aggressive strategies in Redd Up. He took on extreme blight, and he looked to the 320,000 residents of the city to take on the smaller problem -- everyday litter.

There is a difference. You fight real blight with a lot of muscle, special equipment, money and city workers. You can fight everyday litter with passion, pride, pennies and neighborhood people.

Pittsburghers saw the mayor walking their streets. He waved and pointed. Next thing you knew, the city government moved into blighted neighborhoods with the strength of a miniature army.

Under the leadership of Public Works Director Guy Costa, Assistant Director Rob Kaczorowski and Kevin Quigley, the Redd Up point person, crews began clearing illegal dump sites and overgrown vacant lots, hauling away abandoned cars and wiping away graffiti. They've been knocking down some eyesores and dangerous houses while boarding up hundreds of others until more money is available. One-thousand-foot zones around the schools are being attacked first.

I wouldn't be surprised if half of the city's 89 neighborhoods are in blight condition, and you need the pros to do the big jobs. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and people in the administration say this part of Redd Up will go forward.

But what about everyday litter? I'm afraid there's still more talk than walk when it comes to dealing with this problem. Especially over the past week.

There are two kinds of anti-litterers. There are active anti-litterers like me and hundreds of others who put on gloves, stuff litter bags in their pockets and pick up litter. (I launched a campaign on this page a year and a half ago.) And then there are many more passive anti-litterers who talk a good game about redding up but have yet to do it.

If people really want to honor Mayor O'Connor, they have to stand up and be counted. They have to start or join Citizens Against Litter-type groups in all 89 neighborhoods -- the ones that were blighted before Public Works performed its miracles, and the other ones that weren't that bad to begin with.

It doesn't take money to redd up everyday litter. In almost two years with 70 volunteers, Citizens Against Litter in Shadyside has spent only $6, and our neighborhood is cleaner. Come see.

I know of other neighborhoods that have organized volunteer groups to redd up on a regular basis, not just once or twice a year. Squirrel Hill, Homewood, Brookline, South Side Slopes, Central North Side, Mount Washington, Regent Square, South Side are among them. I'm sure there are others.

This is a call to all anti-litterers. The doers and the talkers. Here are some specific ways you can redd up the way Mayor O'Connor was hoping you would. Don't sweat the big stuff. Do the easy jobs.

Squirrel Hill can use 40 more volunteers.

Regent Square needs at least 15 more.

Greenfield wants to start a litter group from scratch.

The Bloomfield business district wants help in keeping litter off beautiful Liberty Avenue.

Brookline has leaders but needs more soldiers.

South Side Flats has been talking about a volunteer group like Shadyside's for two years.

Principals in 106 schools should lead students in Stash the Trash redd-ups on Sept. 29.

Business owners should redd up sidewalks and gutters daily.

Contact me. I'll try to help. Our goal should be to start 50 neighborhood litter groups in the next year, so that next Sept. 1 -- on Bob O'Connor Redd Up Day -- we can stand up and be counted.