1,097 bags of litter in Ross County in 2022, and this year could be worse

Aug 13, 2023

CHILLICOTHE — Along the roads of Ross County are beautiful flowers and trees but there are also piles of tires and fast food bags left by people who litter while traveling. People from the Ross County Litter Control can often be seen picking up this trash as they try to beautify the county.

The sides of the litter control trucks even let people know how much they have cleaned. The trucks currently say that in 2022 the Ross County Litter Control cleaned 298 miles of roads, 14 dump sites, 353 pieces of furniture, appliances or tires and an overall total of 1,097 bags of litter.

Ryan Shreve, director of the Ross County Litter Control, said the numbers this year are expected to be much worse with 140 miles of roads already cleaned resulting in over 530 bags of trash. He said almost all of this is picked up by volunteers or probation workers.

Shreve and administrative assistant Sarah Wood often try to stop littering before it happens by working with camps and classrooms to teach students why littering is wrong. They help provide education about the impacts of litter on the environment and how it can hurt us and future generations.

"We need to look towards the future," said Wood.

In the entire state the Ohio Department of Transportation on average picks up 400,000 bags of trash from roadways. This comes at a yearly cost of around $4 million. This money could be used for many different projects all around the state but if not picked up litter will haunt the roadways for years. For example, an aluminum can has a lifespan of over 80 years as litter and a plastic bottle has over four times that longevity, meaning it will be littering the area for generations to come.

Learn more about litter in our waters: Plastic weighing as much as the Eiffel Tower pollutes Great Lakes yearly. High-tech helps.

While it is ugly and bad for the environment it is also important to remember that it is illegal to litter in the state of Ohio. According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, littering is considered a misdemeanor and can come with jail time and a fine.

Litter Control does accept volunteers who want to help through the Adopt a Road program. This program provides all the necessary equipment for those wanting to clean a road in the area. This includes bags to put the trash in that can then be left on the roads to be picked up and disposed of properly.

To learn more about the Ross County Litter Control and the Ross Pike Highland and Fayette Solid Waste District visit them online.

Shelby Reeves is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. You can email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter@Shelby_Reeves_