Saturday, July 03, 1999
Police targeting litterers
Grant helps pay for special effort
BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Southwest Ohio police are picking up area litterers.
As part of a pilot program started by Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, authorities are cracking down on people who discard their cigarette butts, soda cans and other trash along area roads.
Started June 15, the program has resulted in about 50 warnings and at least five citations. The stepped-up enforcement will continue for about a year, said Maria Schade, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful's program coordinator.
The agency is using a grant to help pay for overtime and salary costs of police officers and state troopers committed to enforcing Ohio's litter laws.“We hope that having the officers on the roads year-round will have a great impact in reducing the amount of litter on the highways and will considerably decrease cleanup costs,” Ms. Schade said.
Police are concentrating on problem areas used by litterers, said Lt. Cliff Schaffner, of the Xenia post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Those are usually along major, busy routes, he said.
Targeted countiesin Southwestern Ohio are Hamilton, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Greene, Preble and Warren. Various law-enforcement agencies in those counties are cooperating, Ms. Schade said.
Anything tossed from a car window is considered litter, Ms. Schade said. Any material that falls from a vehicle carrying a load is also litter and can be fined accordingly.
Truck drivers must secure or cover any loads, Lt. Schaffner said. Of litter citations his post has issued over the past week, half have been for improperly secured loads, he said.
THE PENALTIES
• Drivers and passengers found guilty of littering in Ohio can be fined a minimum of $100. Insufficiently secured cargo that falls from a vehicle could result in a fine of up to $500 and 60 days in jail.
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