The County Line - Fall Issue 2001

State Litter Laws Need Enforcing

Don't remember all that much about the plot of Shakespear's "Much Ado About Nothing." I do, however, understand the meaning of the title.

The trouble is, I am beginning to wonder if our state's litter laws would be the subject of a good sequel to that play. Because the laws are on the books, but the enforcement seems to be much ado about nothing.

At least twice in the last decade the Association has generated -- and the legislature has enacted -- amendments that have strengthened the state's litter enforcement laws. Both changes were aimed at cracking down on those persons who generate roadside litter as well as those who make it a habit of discarding their household waste in secluded locations rather than in approved dumpsites.

According to current Alabama law, persons can be cited for violating the roadside litter statute and fined $500 through the issuance of a ticket by a law enforcement officer. The minimum fine was increased in a bill supported by the Association a few years back.

Persons who discard their household waste illegally can be prosecuted under a separate criminal littering statute. And just a few years ago the Association sponsored amendments to that statute that allows for a case of criminal littering to proceed against a person -- even if the law enforcement authorities do not witness the littering -- simply based on the presence of paper that bears the person's name.

In other words, Alabama law allows litter enforcement officers to prosecute those persons who discard their waste illegally by finding the person's name on papers included in the waste. The person has the opportunity to offer a defense, of course, but the presence of their name in the litter makes it easier to get a conviction.

To help encourage -- apparently without success -- law enforcement officers to crack down on those who litter, Alabama law also provides that the proceeds of the fines will be returned to the agency making the case. The thinking was that a "commission system," of sorts, might work in litter enforcement in the same way it does in the real estate business.

But that has not happened.

During this year's ACCA Steering Committee meetings it was suggested that the Association again support legislation aimed at ridding our state of its litter problem -- both on the road sides and back in the secluded areas where some people enjoy creating their own private dumping grounds. The discussion really turned into a gripe session about the lack of enforcement of our current laws and the ACCA staff was dispatched to collect data on that issue.

What we found was not pretty, to say the least. During the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2001, a grand total of 121 traffic citations were issued for littering in the entire state of Alabama. No, what you read is not a misprint. A TOTAL of 121 tickets were written in the ENTIRE state. That is shameful.

But the numbers get worse. In 33 counties not one single ticket was written for littering during the entire year. And in 20 more cases only one or two tickets were written during the 12-month period. This means that there were two or fewer litter tickets written in 53 of our counties!

I seriously doubt that these 121 cases even produced enough money to pay for the roadside signs that warn people not to litter.

And there's only slightly better news when you look at the issue of criminal littering. A total of 303 criminal littering cases were "made" during the year. Most of those cases, of course, were based on the provision regarding the person's name appearing on items that have been illegally dumped.

Even under this statute, there were 19 counties in which no cases were brought during the course of the last fiscal year and in another 17 counties only one or two case were filed. Again, this means in more than half of the counties two or less cases were filed in an entire year.

By any objective measure, our roadsides in Alabama are very unsightly, littered with trash and garbage. Our rural areas are covered with illegal dumps, presenting health hazards in every county of our state.

Alabama law provides for penalties that seem to be stiff enough to curb this activity. But the statistics -- and the garbage -- speak for themselves.

Is it time to think about increasing the penalties for littering in our state? Well, such a legislative initiative could not hurt. But we have to wonder if increasing the penalties would simply be even more ado about nothing.