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Department of Ecology News Release - January 7, 2002
02-002
SPOKANE - If the amount of litter picked up this year by the Department of Ecology's Ecology Youth Corps (EYC) is any indication, Washington residents are continuing to trash the state's roadways and public areas at an alarming rate.
In the 13 easternmost counties of Washington, about 100 EYC crew members covered more than 1,700 miles and 500 acres in 2001. They collected 17,000 bags of trash, amounting to 259,000 pounds (129.5 tons). That's up more than 27,000 pounds over 2000.
The increase is more dramatic when compared to 1999. Crews in the eastern region picked up 66 percent more litter in 2001 than they did in 1999.
For more than 25 years, teenagers from 14 to 17 years old have been employed by Ecology during the summer to pick up litter along state roadsides and public areas. The youths are exceptional students who must meet strict criteria and interview for the positions.
"The sad thing is that only a fraction of the litter is getting picked up," said Gary Lambacher, coordinator of the EYC program in Spokane. "We just can't keep up with it, and we're not the only group picking it up."
Statewide, litter pickup by EYC crews has increased from approximately 300,000 to 400,000 pounds per year in the early 1990s to approximately 1 million pounds in recent years. Despite the work of EYC and other cleanup crews, only 25 to 35 percent of litter along roadways gets picked up each year.
Crews from local community groups and the state departments of Transportation, Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation and Corrections also pick up litter along local and state roads and highways.
"Millions of taxpayer dollars could be saved if people would take just a moment to think and decide to dispose of their trash properly," Lambacher said.
Lambacher said the youths in the eastern region collected about eight bags per mile of roadway in 2001, compared to six or seven bags per mile in most years.
Of the 259,000 pounds picked up in 2001, 42,643 pounds of the trash were recycled.
Contact: Jani Gilbert, public information manager, 509-456-4464; pager, 509-622-1289
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
