Roadside litter is piling up in Boone County, and authorities say staff shortages share some of the blame.
Roadside litter collection has fallen off its normal routine during the pandemic due to staff shortages at the jail. Without enough corrections officers on duty, the jail cannot safely transport inmate work crews to collect garbage lining the curbs and medians of local streets. But that’s only part of the problem.
“It seems like there has been more trash than I have seen before,” said Judge/Executive Gary Moore during a recent Boone County Fiscal Court meeting. “It really bothers me. It’s on state routes, it’s on interstates, it’s on county roads, and I’ve asked for us to explore why it seems to be worse.”
Moore said part of the issue is the season. Sporadic spring weather means it’s still too early to get the mowers out there to cut the grass and collect roadside trash.
Moore said he has been in contact with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office to “determine the source.” The trash often accumulates as passing cars toss waste to the wind.
Boone County isn’t alone in its litter problem, though. Many municipalities across the country and state have seen an increase in roadside litter due to the lack of resources available to get inmate work crews out there to pick it up. In the meantime, a local incentive for nonprofits seeks to fill that gap.
Boone County’s Trash for Cash program pays nonprofit groups $100 per mile of roadside waste collected, with a $500 maximum. Last year, more than 340 miles and 23,000 pounds of trash were collected. It’s a seasonal program that was started years before the pandemic, though it existed on a smaller scale for the last two years due to COVID-19. Now, its service is felt in this season of shortages, according to Megan Clere, community outreach coordinator and solid waste technician for Boone County Solid Waste.
“Before the pandemic, we used to have a lot more work crews going out in addition to Trash for Cash groups going out, but since the pandemic, it has definitely winded down a lot,” Clere said. “We are no longer able to use inmates for certain litter programs and also our recycling programs. Now, since we’re two years out of the pandemic, we are ramping up the Trash for Cash groups again.”
Clere said groups typically collect “30 to 40 bags full of litter.”
“It makes such a huge difference in our community. It’s a lot less blight,” she said.
Ultimately, Moore said the current problem “is a combination of things.” and that “we have to do better.”
“We want our county to be beautiful,” he said. “To our residents: Do not throw garbage out. It’s just, to me, a huge disrespect to our county and to our community– not to me or to any elected official, but to your neighbors and your community. So, let’s all do better.
“And if you see something, bend down and pick it up.”