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Litter and Illegal Dump Cleanup Activity

Programs that receive funding from the Department of Ecology (Ecology) are required to report their accomplishments. There is a variety of information that each program collects, but statewide, litter and illegal dump cleanup activities are quantified by counting the number of hours spent by litter crews, the number of miles or acres that were cleaned up, and the number of illegal dump sites cleaned.

The requirement to report this information to Ecology was recently established and it took a coordinated effort to get dozens of crews to report information is standardized format. Calendar year 2000 was the first year that litter and illegal dump pickup activities were quantified on a statewide basis. Programs included in the statistics include the Ecology Youth Corps, the Community Litter Cleanup Program, the Department of Natural Resources Camps Program, and the Department of Corrections Work Crew Program. See the Who's Who in Litter Pickup page of this website for more information on these programs.

Each program's activity is organized geographically, by county. Looking at distribution of resources and litter activity statewide can help improve efficiency and effectiveness of pickup programs. Several statistics about the county itself are also considered because they influence how much litter is there and how many crews might be needed. Population and miles driven impact the volume of litter generated. Acres and total miles quantify the area that a litter crew may have to cover in a pickup season.

Also included is a number described as "DOT rating." As part of the Maintenance Accountability Program, the Department of Transportation assigns a "rating" to sections of interstate or state highway that is a measure of how much litter was found. Referred to as a "service level" or "cleanliness rating," over time, this rating may indicate whether Washington roadways are getting cleaner or dirtier.

Here is a description of the information included:

• Population data from the Office of Financial Management website (Census 2006 estimate data).
• Centerline miles and miles driven data from Washington State Department of Transportation (year 2006 data).
• Area data from Office of Financial Management Data Book (2005 data).
• DOT rating from Washington State Department of Transportation. A measurement of road "cleanliness," the scale goes from 1.0 (cleanest) to 5.9 (dirtiest), based on pieces of litter found during two sampling periods (year 2006 data).
• Litter activity data reflects what was reported to Department of Ecology by various programs.
• EYC = Ecology Youth Corps
• CLCP = Community Litter Cleanup Program
• DNR = Department of Natural Resources Camps Crews
• DOC = Department of Corrections Work Crews
• Hours represents crew supervisor and crew hours combined.
• Pounds represents both litter and illegally dumped materials picked up (if reported in bags or cubic yards, the figures were converted to pounds using a standard formula). Litter, illegal dump, and pounds recycled are also detailed.
• Miles represents the number of shoulder miles cleaned. (Think of a mile of road as having two shoulders, therefore representing two miles of road cleaned).
• Acres represents the number of acres cleaned.
• # Dumps represents the number of illegal dump sites cleaned up.

Litter Activity Report by Ecology Region

Below you will find links to activity information by county, grouped by Ecology region, for 2006. Find your county and click on the Ecology region name. You may have to scroll or page through until you reach your county information. A map summarizing litter activity for each region is also included.

Or for a chart that summarizes and totals litter activity by region, click here.

Northwest Region	Southwest Region	Central Region	Eastern Region
Island	Clallam	Benton	Adams
King	Clark	Chelan	Asotin
Kitsap	Cowlitz	Douglas	Columbia
San Juan	Grays Harbor	Kittitas	Ferry
Skagit	Jefferson	Klickitat	Franklin
Snohomish	Lewis	Okanogan	Garfield
Whatcom	Mason	Yakima	Grant
	Pacific		Lincoln
	Pierce		Pend Oreille
	Skamania		Spokane
	Thurston		Stevens
	Wahkiakum		Walla Walla
			Whitman

Past Years' Statistics:

2005	Northwest	Southwest	Central	Eastern	Summary
2004	Northwest	Southwest	Central	Eastern	Summary
2003	Northwest	Southwest	Central	Eastern	Summary
2002	Northwest	Southwest	Central	Eastern	Summary
2001	Northwest	Southwest	Central	Eastern	Summary
2000	Northwest	Southwest	Central	Eastern	Summary