California Freeways Get Trashed
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 08.23.07
Photo credit: tswartz
The erstwhile Golden State may have lost some of its eco-conscious gleam: A story in Press-Telegram reports that freeway garbage in Los Angeles and Ventura counties rose nearly 30 percent to about 50,000 cubic yards in 2006, enough to fill about 6,300 dump trucks. (We're assuming that this number is a comparison with data from 2005; the reporter isn't clear about this.)
Northern California experienced a 34 percent rise in freeway trash—everything from used tissues to couches—along the region's roadways, according to the California Department of Transport, better known as Caltrans. San Diego and Imperial counties, meanwhile, saw a 12 percent increase.
"You think people are more environmentally conscious now than in the past," says Daniel Freeman, Caltrans deputy district director of maintenance. "Yet people don't seem to have any qualms about tossing fast-food wrappers out the window. It surprises me."
Picking up after litter bugs doesn't come cheap—Caltrans spent around $60 million last year, $20 million more than it did in previous years.
The No. 1 piece of trash found on the freeways: cigarette butts. In an attempt to curb butt flickers, Keep California Beautiful, a statewide education organization has started giving away portable car ashtrays.
Fast-food wrappers that drift across freeway on-ramps near food outlets are also the top trash complaint Caltrans receives.
Stephanie Barger, executive director of Earth Resource Foundation, an environmental educational nonprofit based in Costa Mesa says that American tend to overstate their concern for the environment. While 75 percent of Americans think they are environmentally friendly, less than 2 percent actually are, Barger says. "They love to say they're green," she says. "They say, `I put my bottle in the recycling bin.' But you're supposed to do that."
We guess most people just don't give a hoot these days. ::Press-Telegram
Not to make a broad generalization, but Californian's are the biggest litter bugs I have ever met. When snowboarding in Utah the hills and area under the lifts would always be filled with Litter after a couple tour buses full of Cali-folk would arrive. I observed this over 10 years at Briton and Solitude. After taking a 3 days car trip from Seattle to California, I have never seen so much trash on a highway as I did in California. Maybe it's just me...
I wonder how the increase in garbage correlates to increase in time spent commuting and/or increase in number of drivers on the road.
I'll take a wild guess and say there is a total lack of enforcement.
I see people litter all the time but never have I ever seen someone get a ticket for littering, nor overhear someone say they got ticketed.
Maybe divert some of the funds spent enforcing parking rules...? If people are scared of getting caught they won't do it in the first place.
No it's not just you! Although I haven't travelled that extensively I noticed a marled difference in litter between Massachusetts and California. I think saying that people claiming they're green and not actually being is very true.
I know it isn't PC to say this, but with unfettered illegal immigration to California, this is one of the many symptoms.
What is the environmental impact of uneducated third worlders from Mexico streaming into our country? They have no respect for the environment, they use lots of resources (water, sewage, gasoline, electricity), they clog our roads, causing traffic jams (causing everyone to waste gasoline), they drive junky vehicles (polluting the environment), etc.
It seems to me the environmental movement is missing the big picture.
Bob, it's not un-PC, it's just kind of dumb. I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to answer your allegations, considering how ridiculous and blatantly "i will find any excuse to turn them non-Americans into a scapegoat for everything" they are, but I'll try to talk some reason:
1) I'm pretty sure Mexicans just coming into the country, due to the overcrowding of their residences and relative inability to afford many expensive things (immigrant wages in CA tend to be lower compared to most states), do not use quite as many resources as the people in, say, Pasadena, who tend to hire them to maintain sprawling, lush lawns in the dead middle of a heatwave.
2) Traffic jams are a sign of bad planning and everyone crowding the road - not just immigrants. Why don't you shake a fist at all the white collar workers who refuse to car pool? A cursory look around would tell you there's more of those than any Mexican on the road.
3) If they drive junky vehicles, it's probably because they are poor. And why does it matter in a state chock full of SUVs?
It seems like if anyone hasn't seen the bigger picture, it's you.
Thank you Elaine. I don't know that there is much more to add, but to say that it's not just a problem with too many Hispanics. It's too many whites, too many blacks, too many asians, and just plain TOO MANY PEOPLE. Stop littering the world with people and things will be much better.
"Maybe divert some of the funds spent enforcing parking rules...? If people are scared of getting caught they won't do it in the first place."
I concur. As a citizen of Southern CA its way overdue. Its time to see GREAT enforcement of this disrespectful, lazy and immature act. If they can drive around and look at parking meters they can most certainly divert some of that focus to our city and freeways.
I live in San Diego and while I don't doubt that people are littering, I've never actually seen anyone throw a fast food wrapper out their car window. I have, however, driven behind trash trucks and have seen ff wrappers, plastic bags, and other items flying off the top of the trash heaps like flocks of lazy birds. I wonder if anything is being done to hold the garbage companies accountable for their littering?
I live in Los Angeles County and drive on the freeways all the time. I have seen so many people trashing the freeways it makes me wonder if there is a way to report drivers. Please let me know if there is a phone number we can call.
JS.
Elaine, thank you for your intellegent comment about latino immigrants being the scapegoat for litter along California freeways.
To add to your comment. The United States is in fact, the largest consumer of products, as well as the largest polluter. This has resulted from the lifestyle of all american residents, not just immigrants. Think to your lifestyle or lifestyle of close friends and family members....how many recycle or drive hybrids, or don't drive at all, but walk to work or ride a bike??
Instead of blaming immigrants, you should consider the rate of environmental degradation these individuals possess. These individuals come from less technologically advanced countries, their availability and use of resources is drastically lower than the US. We have the luxury of many more resources available to us, and we use them excessively. These individuals have a lower rate of environmental degradation because they tend to consume less, and damage the earth more slowly than others with a higher rate of enviro-degradation.