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Who's Who in Litter PickupDid you ever wonder who picks up litter on our highways, roads, parks, and other public areas? Many people assume, "it's prisoners," but actually, there are many different types of crews dedicated to picking up litter and cleaning up illegal dump sites state wide. The following are a few that receive funding through the Department of Ecology and have become partners, working towards a zero litter goal.
Lead Agency: Department of Ecology The Ecology Youth Corps (EYC) is Washington State's largest youth employment program. Every year hundreds of teens are recruited from schools statewide, and over 400 teens are hired. These youth provide an important service to their community while earning over minimum wage. They gain valuable job skills, teamwork experience, safety awareness, and receive an environmental education as well. EYC crews have been picking up litter for over 25 years, collecting over 1 million pounds a year. They are not juvenile delinquents! There are two types of EYC crews: Youth and Median crews. Summer Youth Crew members range from age 14-17 and pick up litter along the shoulders of interstates, state and county roads, interchanges, and public off-road areas such as parks and boat launches. Median crews are composed of people 18 years and older and are responsible for cleaning the more challenging roadway areas such as medians, complex interchanges and high traffic areas. These crews may work in the spring and fall as well as the summer. Besides picking up litter, the EYC program has an environmental education component. Crews participate in training or field trips related to litter abatement, waste reduction, recycling or other environmental issues. back to top Adopt-a-Highway Lead Agency: Department of Transportation (WSDOT) The Adopt-a-Highway program is an anti-litter roadside enhancement campaign intended to build pride in our beautiful state. I allows organized groups of citizens and/or businesses to work in partnership with the Department by "adopting" a section of state highway and agreeing to help take care of it. This program offers organizations a way to contribute to their community and generate publicity for their efforts. There are two options for participation, either as a volunteer group or as a sponsor of a private contract. Volunteer groups may be clubs, employees of a business, or just a group of concerned citizens. Private sponsors may participate by hiring professional contractors to accomplish the litter control and/or roadside enhancement. All individuals participating in the program as volunteers must be at least 15 years of age and in good health. The participating groups or sponsor agrees to help take care of an "adopted" section of highway for at least 2 years. Typically the assigned sections include between 2 and 4 miles of roadside, depending on the highway and the volume of anticipated litter, or scope of the enhancement project. The section of highway may be of the participant's choosing, or one suggested by the Department. Safety of the participants is the primary concern in determining where sections are assigned. Desirable sections are assigned on a first come-first served basis. In return the WSDOT will erect a sign(s) at the beginning of the section identifying the adopting group. For volunteer groups the Department also provides the necessary traffic control equipment, safety equipment, safety training, litterbags, and disposal of filled bags. back to top Department of Transportation (WSDOT) In addition to administering the Adopt-a-Highway Program, the WSDOT has primary responsibility for picking up litter along state roads. WSDOT personnel pick up litter themselves and they pick up the bags of litter collected by any group working on state roadways, primarily the Ecology Youth Corps, Department of Corrections, Adopt-a-Highway groups, and some Community Litter Cleanup Program crews. back to top Community Litter Cleanup Program Lead Agency: Department of Ecology The Community Litter Cleanup Program (CLCP) was developed and implemented in 1998. Through the CLCP the Department of Ecology provides funding to local governments for litter pickup, illegal dump cleanup, and litter prevention education. County level solid waste planning authorities responsible for local comprehensive solid waste management plans are eligible to apply for these funds. Currently, this includes all 39 Washington counties. Ohter local governments may be eligible recipients, but may not apply directly for funding. Recipients receive funds to conduct and/or administer projects or may pass the funds through to other entities. Local governments have wide latitude to use partnerships with other agencies and groups to get work done. The CLCP funds a wide variety of crews including youth and adult volunteer crews; juvenile rehabilitation crews; and state and local correctional crews comprised of both community service and offender crews. In 2005, CLCP funded crews picked up 1,893 tons of litter and illegally dumped materials and cleaned 24,248 miles of road while working 185,000 hours. back to top Community Service and Work Crews Lead Agency: Department of Corrections (Corrections) The community service program has been in place and working at full capacity since 1987. Instead of offenders idly sitting in jail they can be out working in their communities, providing visible evidence to citizens of the state that offenders are being held accountable and are making restitution to the community where they committed crimes. This arrangement benefits the offender by avoiding time in jail, possibly establishing a work ethic, and learning work habits. This provides benefits to the citizen by diverting tax dollars from jail costs and benefits the work site by providing free or low-cost labor. Corrections crews significantly contribute to litter and illegal dump cleanup programs statewide. The Department of Ecology has an interagency agreement with Corrections to deploy work crews at key areas around the state. In 2000, crews funded through this agreement picked up just under 1 million pounds of litter and illegally dumped materials. In addition many crews participate in the CLCP as described above. Crew members are carefully screened before they are allowed to participate and are supervised by a correctional officer. back to top Correctional Camps Program Lead Agency: Department of Natural Resources (DNR) The Correctional Camps Program is a partnership between the Department of Corrections, Department of Social and Health Services, and DNR. The program provides workforce training and practical work experience for adult inmates and juvenile offenders. Through the program, DNR provides a supervised, trained, and equipped labor force for emergency response, stewardship activities on public lands, and to perform special projects for local communities within Washington State. The Department of Ecology has an interagency agreement with DNR to deploy crews from facilities around the state. The crews focus on removal of illegally dumped materials from state-owned forests, as well as other forest maintenance tasks. In 2000, DNR crews picked up over 300,000 pounds of litter and illegally dumped materials from state lands. back to top Parks & Recreation Commission Volunteer Program The Parks & Recreation Commission (Parks) has an interagency agreement with Department of Ecology to conduct waste reduction and recycling as well as litter control activities in state parks. Most litter collection is done by park rangers and volunteers and funding from Ecology offsets the costs of equipment, supplies, and disposal of materials collected. Recently, recycling centers were installed at Fort Flagler State Park as a pilot project to see if the park could increase the amount of materials being recycled, thereby reducing disposal costs. A presentation highlighting the project is listed below. Fort Flagler Case Study Washington State Parks Case Study Report 2003 Washington State Parks - Litter & Sustainability Report for the '03-'05 Biennium Washington State Parks - Litter & Sustainability Report for the '05-'07 Biennium back to top |
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
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