Dive Brief:
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The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Court Community Service program have picked up more than 8,400 bags of trash from the region's interstates since March 1, representing a significant jump, ODOT District 12 told Newsnet5.com
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The litterers are mainly throwing trash from their cars, despite a task force delegated to enforce the law tied to illegal dumping.
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Ohio will step up its efforts to squash the problem on June 4 when ODOT, Keep Ohio Beautiful, Keep Cleveland Beautiful, the city of Cleveland, the Alliance for the Great Lakes, and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress facilitate a litter clean-up day in Greater Cleveland.
Dive Insight:
Cleveland city clean-up crew leader David Reuse puts the responsibility back on ODOT to reverse the trend that he says is out of control, calling on the agency to pump anti-litter education and clean-up efforts like the one planned for June.
ODOT's response, relayed through newsnet5.com, was "We will continue [working to manage the problem] all spring, summer and fall until the snow comes around again."
Cleveland is not alone in its mounting trash problem. In Choctaw County, AL, the Sheriff's Department and inmates have removed six tons of waste from roads since mid-January. And a Massachusetts' litter problem along highways, streets, and roads got so bad that Keep Massachusetts Beautiful Founder and Executive Director Neil Rhein recently said, "We may as well rename our state Trashachusetts."
