County gets $34,264 for inmates to pick up litter
As part of the program Stop Litter in Tennessee, Gov. Phil Bredesen and TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely have awarded Warren County a litter grant in the amount of $34,264.
It’s roughly the same amount the county has received three years in a row.
Warren County litter grant coordinator Mary Lou Ward says the money is vital in the constant battle to keep our roads free of litter. Ward says the money is used primarily to pay a guard who takes jail inmates out five days a week to collect trash.
‘We’re trying to make a good dent in it,’ said Ward. ‘They go out every day, even when it rains. I just wish people would continue with it after the roads are clean. A few hours after they have been through, you’ll already see more litter on a road they have just cleaned.’
Ward said the litter grant is also used to pay for cardboard and newspaper recycling programs at the convenience centers. And through the litter grant, free tarps are given away once a year, usually at the end of the Great American Cleanup in May.
Litter is only a problem because people don’t care enough about their own community to throw trash in its proper place.
‘Each year volunteers pick up nearly 25.5 million pounds of roadside litter,’ said Bredesen. ‘Litter is an eyesore. It’s costly to clean up and can be harmful to our environment, but it’s totally preventable. These funds will be used by counties across the state to organize their pick-up efforts and conduct educational campaigns to teach children and adults about the importance of keeping Tennessee beautiful.’
‘Litter is a never-ending battle and our communities can’t fight it alone,’ said state Sen. Jerry Cooper. ‘The funds will aid important clean-up and educational efforts in Warren County.’
Litter grant funds are distributed annually by TDOT to all 95 Tennessee counties.
‘TDOT awards approximately $3 million each year to help local communities in their efforts to stop litter in Tennessee,’ said Nicely. ‘These funds are obtained through the collection of a specialty tax on the malt beverage and soft drink industry through the Litter Grant Bill which was enacted by the General Assembly in 1981.’
The funds that each county receives are determined by county road miles and county population in order to ensure an equitable distribution statewide. Funds must be used for litter pick-up activities and litter prevention education. Education funding can be used in a variety of ways, such as sharing litter control awareness with schools, citizens and businesses.
Through the litter pickup program, approximately 25.5 million pounds of roadside litter was picked up on approximately 292,000 miles of county roads, and approximately 45,000 miles of state routes.