Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 23, 1999

99-082 through 99-085

Contact: Caitlin Cormier, public information officer, (360) 407-6149

Ecology youth crews work to identify roadside litter

OLYMPIA -- The Department of Ecology’s Youth Corps (EYC) will be doing more than just picking up litter this year as they trek along thousands of miles of Washington highways. It also will be collecting information for a year-long survey aimed at improving litter controls in the state.

The crews of young adults have begun their annual effort to remove the wintertime accumulation of litter throughout Washington’s highway system. But this year’s effort also is integrated with a project stemming from the Litter Act that the legislature adopted in 1998.

The survey will identify what kinds of litter are being tossed from vehicles, and where. That information will be used to develop better litter-prevention strategies in the future.

Cheryl Strange, litter and recycling manager for Ecology's Headquarters, said: "With better knowledge about litter composition, how much is building up on our streets, and littering behavior, we’ll be able to better coordinate cleanup efforts and develop prevention strategies."

The EYC crews worked last fall to thoroughly clean the sample sites in preparation for the cleanup and survey they are conducting now. Data analysis of the newly accumulated litter from the sample sites will begin next month.

The litter survey is scheduled to be completed this fall. It is the first such study since 1990.

The efforts of the EYC, along with the crews from local community groups and the state departments of Transportation, Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation, and Corrections, mean there are more people than ever working on the litter problem. Nevertheless, cleanup efforts are not able to keep pace with the rate of littering.

"We’re spending an increasing amount of money to pick up record amounts of litter, and we still cannot keep up," said Strange. "People need to help protect the beauty of this state by not littering in the first place."

EYC crews have begun working in each of Ecology’s four regions: Southwest, Northwest, Central and Eastern. The Central region is comprised of Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan and Yakima counties.

The Eastern region is comprised of Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla and Whitman counties.

The Northwest region is comprised of Island, King, Kitsap, San Juan, Snohomish and Whatcom counties.

The Southwest region is comprised of Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, Skamania, Thurston and Wahkiakum counties.

Due to increased hazards of working close to the highways, young adults 18 to 25 years of age are hired in the spring and fall to concentrate on medians. In the summer, younger youth crews will be hired to focus on cleaning litter from roadway shoulders and other public areas.

The EYC is funded by a tax on industry, under the state’s Waste Reduction, Recycling & Model-Litter-Control Act, and administered by Ecology.

Note for editors and news directors in central Washingon: To arrange to meet crews for videotaping, photographs and interviews, please contact Glenn Duncan, EYC coordinator for Ecology's Central region, at (509) 454-7872.

Note for editors and news directors in eastern Washington: To arrange to meet crews for videotaping, photographs and interviews, please contact Gary Lambacher, EYC coordinator for Ecology's Eastern region, at (509) 456-5054.

Note for editors and news directors in northwest Washington: To arrange to meet crews for videotaping, photographs and interviews, please contact please contact Vicki Colgan, EYC coordinator for Ecology's Northwest region, at (425) 649-7224.

Note for editors and news directors in southwest Washington: To arrange to meet crews for videotaping, photographs and interviews, please contact Art Hugo, EYC coordinator for Ecology's Southwest region, at (360) 407-6351.