| Spring
cleaning hits full stride in the bluegrass next week as the ninth-annual
Commonwealth Cleanup Week begins on March 25.
More than 6,300 people participated statewide last year, filling
19,061 bags with 1,000 tons of trash from 2,016 roadways, according
to a statement from the Kentucky Division of Waste Management,
which organizes and oversees the event.
Participants collected 369 tons of junk during the 2006 campaign,
including 1,189 appliances, which were recycled.
County leaders spoke highly of the yearly event and called on
residents to chip in to clean up Owen County, but they stressed
that people should take part in such activities across the calendar.
“I want to see us focus on cleaning up our county not just
one week of the year but 52 weeks out of the year,” said
Judge-Executive Billy O’Banion.
The county recently implemented a roadside litter program for
nonprofit groups to raise $100 per mile of roadside cleaned, in
addition to the adopt-a-highway program established in many counties.
Dan Logan, county road supervisor and solid waste supervisor,
said the roadside litter program is funded by a litter abatement
grant from the state.
Fiscal
Court voted to designate $5,000 from the grant to fund the program
for this year, he said; seven groups currently participate.
Commonwealth Cleanup Week occurs near the middle of the Great
American Cleanup, a national event that runs from March to May.
Logan said, in addition to the state and national cleanup campaigns,
early spring is a good time for road department workers to pick
up along the roadsides since vegetation has yet to grow high and
the bulk of roadwork is done in summer.
He urged motorists to use caution when driving on county roads
throughout the remainder of the month, noting that many volunteers
and workers will be out cleaning roadsides.
State law enforcement officials are encouraged to step up efforts
in enforcing illegal dumping and littering laws during the campaign.
Logan said his office generally does not seek legal action unless
dealing with a repeat offender, partly because the laws can be
tough to enforce.
“We encourage people, when we do find names, we like to
talk to them face to face,” he said. County officials will
often come across names and addresses among illegally dumped trash,
warn alleged offenders and ask them to stop.
However, Logan said, proving guilt without a reasonable doubt
in a court of law with only a name on a piece of litter can prove
to be a tough task.
“To prosecute is very difficult,” he said. “You
have to physically see them. … You can’t just pull
a name out of a bag.”
Logan said residents have three options for getting rid of waste
in Owen County: going through one of two private trash haulers,
Rumpke or CSI, or taking the waste to the transfer station.
O’Banion said people with problems disposing of garbage
should contact his office, adding that litter cleanup performed
by county workers takes time away from other jobs being done.
“Illegal dumping is not taking pride in our county,”
he said.
The General Assembly in 1998 designated the fourth week in March
for Kentuckians to take part in “activities that highlight
the natural beauty of their communities,” according to a
statement from the waste management division.
In Owen County next week, representatives from the state Environmental
Protection Agency will help clean up an illegal dump site on Red
Oak Pike, Logan said. And the transfer station in Owenton will
offer free drop-off days.
During such days, normally offered on the last Saturday of each
month, things like scrap metal and old appliances can be dropped
of for free. The station still charges 50 cents for bags of household
garbage and $1 per tire during free drop-off dates.
Free drop-off days will be March 26-31.
The theme for this year’s Commonwealth Cleanup is “Don’t
Litter — Pick up the Habit.”
Eva Smith-Carroll, a spokeswoman for the waste management division,
said an art contest is held each year in Kentucky schools to help
promote the cleanup initiative. This year students were called
upon to design a new logo for the campaign; the winner will be
announced sometime this week, she said.
O’Banion encouraged residents to get children involved in
helping with the cleanup and to teach them to not litter.
“We hope everybody will participate in some form or fashion,”
he said. “Even if it’s going out to pick up the ditch
line in front of your house.”
Logan also stressed that the success of such an event begins with
a level of personal responsibility.
“A lot of it is they (promoters of the event) are encouraging
people to get out and clean up their own area,” he said.
One incentive for nonprofit groups to get involved next week is
the chance to win money.
The waste management division will give away a $1,000-, a $500-
and a $250-prize in a statewide drawing.
Individuals or groups seeking to volunteer or register for the
drawing during the event, can contact the offices of the county
judge-executive or solid waste coordinator.
During the cleanup, about 700 trash bags, donated to all participating
counties by GLAD, will be used to clean up Owen County.
Despite the freebie, Logan said the donated supply would not match
the demand of volunteers wanting to spruce up the county during
the event.
“That’s not enough,” he said. “We’ll
use all that up easily.”
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