There are more than 24,000 pieces of litter per mile along Washington highways, so there’s a new campaign to encourage you not to treat the world around you like it’s your trash can.
A study by the State Department of Ecology finds that roadside trash includes a lot of plastic wrappers and drink cups or bottles as well as 260-MILLION cigarette butts flicked out of car windows each year. From January through July 2022 alone, 816 tons of litter and debris were removed from Washington roadsides. The study also finds that more than 75% of Washington residents choose to not litter and about 26% of litterers would be motivated to stop if a friend, family member, or passenger asked them to refrain
Amber Smith, Ecology’s statewide litter prevention coordinator, says, “we’re spending over $9 million a year on litter crews to go out and try to pick that litter up, and the reality is we can only pick up a small fraction of that litter.”
So meet the “Simple As That” campaign.
It’s a reminder that keeping a trash bag in your car is a better option than pitching garbage out the window. It’s a reminder that it’s also very simple for you to dump that bag at a gas station or when you get to wherever you’re going, but it also calls on you to remind your friends and family that you can make a choice other than leaving your junk for someone else to pick up.
If you want a litter bag for your car, the state is giving them away at Fred Meyer stores. Check out the Simple As That website for details.
