PennDOT says it spends $500,000 a year to clean up roadway litter
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — If you go along any Pittsburgh-area highway, you will find at least one thing in common: litter.
Cleanup groups said this time of year is when people notice and express their anger.
"I think it looks pretty bad. A lot of trash," Herman Blue of Swissvale said Tuesday.
"It is disposable. It can be compostable. It can be reusable and recyclable, and no one is doing it, and that is just ridiculous," Ed Margerrison of Annapolis, Maryland said.
PennDOT's Allegheny County Maintenance Manager Ben DeVore said it spends about $500,000 on cleanup each year. That is enough money to pave 5 miles of road a year.
"I can do a lot more productive things for our region in that time if I had it available to me," DeVore said.
Once a week, he has crews going around the region to pick up debris. Some crews have picked up as much as 50 bags of litter in one shift. This not only prevents them from doing other tasks but feels futile when the trash returns.
"They pick litter one day and unfortunately the next day it looks no different because the litter is back," DeVore said.
Other groups like Allegheny Cleanways organize efforts to pick up trash. It said the problem we are dealing with now is single-use plastic products.
"We had glass bottles before that would eventually break down. We now have plastic bottles that last a lot longer in the environment," executive director Myrna Newman said.
Litter can cause damage to stormwater systems when it gets trapped. That also costs money and man hours.
A simple way to prevent this is don't litter. Also, make sure any loads you have in a car or truck are secure and don't blow away. Try also to use some reusable cups or products to prevent some of this.
