The facts are that the Georgia Department of Transportation annually removes litter from 1,245 interstate miles and 18,000 state route miles.
Cities and counties are responsible for litter cleanup along 96,818 miles of local roads or 84 percent of the total road miles in the state.
KPB and other organizations annually participate in Great American Cleanup activities. In 2006, volunteers picked up almost 4 million pounds of litter and debris. During this effort, an estimated 270,000 volunteer hours – the equivalent of 130 full-time workers – was devoted to cleaning up litter.
In 2006, the Georgia Department of Transportation spent almost $14 million to pick up litter on state highways alone. This does not include local government, nonprofit and corporate cleanup efforts.
In Georgia, it costs $90 million annually to throw away 2.6 million tons of cans, bottles and newspapers that are collected and moved to Georgia landfills. Those items would have an estimated market value of $300 million if they were recycled.
Litter prevention is more than cleanup activities, according to local and state officials. Eight out of 10 Georgians feel someone else will pick up the litter they throw out of a vehicle.
Read more: The Fish Wrap – Cleaning up road side trash is costing Polk County
I live in Acworth and have recently complained to my local city hall about the littering problem in my neighborhood. It started with a few cans, bottles and cigarette packs and turned into the making of a slum. The city had it cleaned two weeks later, and immediately after people have started littering again! The residents have to pay extra for recycling pick up (no one does) and there seems to be virtually no incentive to do so. I found on the website a recycling area in town, but I believe they do not accept all typical recycables such as glass, aluminum, paper, ect.. And there are no signs saying “Recycling Center, 2 miles” or anything to make it clear to people whatsoever. I am happy the city responded promptly but am getting fed up with the people who continue to litter. The police have been helpful and are patrolling more, but they said the chances of catching someone in the act are slim.
I am working on a project for college about how to get the community involved in using biodegradable products, thus reducing the significant litter problem. Any suggestions? Thank you for a great article!
You can do several things, including a Facebook site, getting people involved, showing pictures of litter, going on local radio/ TV, starting a litter pickup society and more.
Good luck with your project.