Spring is a traditional time for cleaning.
The S.C. Department of Transportation and its employees are doing their part. The annual statewide highway litter cleanup event was held recently. Called the “Spring Spruce Up,” the initiative involves employee volunteers working in groups to collect litter along roads in counties across the state.
Meanwhile, PalmettoPride and Keep South Carolina Beautiful are coordinating the Great South Carolina Cleanup, a localized cleanup, beautification and community-improvement program. Uniting South Carolina residents together for a common cause, the Great South Carolina Cleanup encourages citizens to revitalize their communities through litter cleanups.
Locally, Orangeburg County is supporting the effort with the 2024 Spring Challenge/Clean Where You Live/Work/Play. The effort began April 1 and concludes April 30. During that time, groups and/or individuals are asked to schedule a day for roadside cleanups. Volunteers can get bags, grabbers, gloves and vests for the effort and Orangeburg County Code Enforcement will pick up bags of litter. For more information, call code enforcement at 803-533-6162 or Keep Orangeburg County Beautiful at 803-534-2409 extension 8903.
In Bamberg County, a cleanup in Bamberg and Denmark was held March, with Bamberg County Council member Dr. Jonathan Goodman and Denmark council member Calvin Odom taking the lead.
Putting litter-cleanup efforts in perspective, consider the findings of a 2020 Keep American Beautiful study on litter in America.
The study is the most comprehensive look at litter in the country’s history. It provides “a valid, national estimate of litter along waterways in the U.S., and insights about the relationship between litter on waterways and roadways.”
A key finding will surprise you: Litter on roadways has been reduced by 54% since 2009.
But the scope of the problem remains massive. The study estimates there are 50 billion pieces of litter on the ground, and although roadway litter is down by more than 50%, there is slightly more litter along waterways.
Other findings show 90% of U.S. residents agree that litter is a problem for their state. There were an estimated 207 million pieces of PPE littered along U.S. roadways and waterways through early fall 2020. Estimates are that there are more than 2,000 pieces of litter per mile of highway in the U.S.
In thanking the SCDOT employee volunteers for doing their part to combat the problem, Acting Secretary of Transportation Justin Powell said clean roadsides support South Carolina’s economy and quality of life: “We want folks who live, work, and travel in South Carolina to enjoy driving on our state’s roads. Litter detracts from that experience and can even be a hazard.”
Residents are encouraged to show their pride in their communities and help keep their locales clean, as well as volunteer in the spring efforts.
Litter impacts everyone. It’s time for some spring cleaning.
— Times and Democrat, Orangeburg
