Sussex County roadside trash a dirty issue

Trash is a dirty subject. And when officials stir the topic, reactions are mixed.

Sussex County Councilman Rob Arlett, R-Frankford, says roadside trash needs to be back on the council agenda.

“We need to bring it back up, and get it done and clean up countywide,” he said at the end of the March 7 council meeting.

“We need to make it easy for people to get rid of trash,” said Councilman George Cole, R-Ocean View. “And it's getting harder and harder to get rid of recyclables.”

Mike Costello, the county's government affairs manager and former chief constable, acknowledged a clean up would be great. “But it's a 365-day-a-year problem,” he said.

Jurisdiction becomes a roadblock, he said. Costello said the state – not the county – has jurisdiction when it comes to enforcing and investigating roadside trash laws. The county enforces only trash accumulated on a residents' property, and the county has no arrest powers. To gain jurisdiction, council would have to adopt new trash-control regulations.

Violations fall under the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's Environmental Crimes Unit. Costello said four or five unit members are assigned to work in Sussex and Kent counties.

Council adopts two measures

On Costello's recommendation, last May council instituted two measures to aid in the cleanup of roadside trash. The constable's office was charged with reporting trash spots to the environmental crimes unit, and following up on what action was taken. In addition, the office established a rewards program through Delaware Crimestoppers for those who report roadside trash violators who are convicted. Council set aside $4,500 in the budget for tips.

To date, while tips have been called in, no money has been paid out, Costello said. “There is no law enforcement follow-through,” Costello said. “But it does stir locals of Sussex County if they see something, they can do something about it.”

Arlett said, county administration should investigate getting more county employees involved in a trash crackdown. There are as many as 200 county vehicles on the roads on a daily basis, said County Administrator Todd Lawson.

Costello said just because the county does not have jurisdiction over trash, that does not mean county staff does not make reports.

“If we see it, we call the tip line, and we call DelDOT all the time to report trash,” he said. “Behind the scenes we forward information to the correct people.”

Costello said the Delaware Department of Transportation is responsible for keeping the state's roadways clear of trash using a three-pronged approach. DelDOT road crews and Sussex Correctional Institution inmate crews both clean up trash. In addition, volunteers in the Adopt-A-Highway program clean up roadways. Sussex County has more than 440 Adopt-A-Highway groups, more than Kent and New Castle counties. Costello said, according to DelDOT, the program covers 85 percent of the county's roads.

Residents get in on the action

Some residents are taking it on themselves to collect trash and pay to have it dumped. Renee Cahill, a resident of Lewes Crossing, said a small group of volunteers picked up trash to fill 16 large bags over two days in February along Beaver Dam Road and Route 9 on both sides of her community. Then a month later, they picked up another eight large bags. They plan another cleanup Thursday, March 30.

Cahill said her community would like to join the state's Adopt-A-Highway program but does not want the responsibility of adopting a 2-mile stretch of road.

2015 - Adopt-A-Highway

2,298 bags collected in Sussex County/4,567 statewide

6,740 tires collected statewide

280 appliances collected statewide