LEXINGTON, S.C. — Lexington County has hired two code enforcement officers, and launched a new volunteer program to help eliminate litter within the county.
Street Squad Lexington received a lot of messages on our Facebook page about litter within Lexington County. Deborah Kelderman says Founders Road sees a lot of trash dumped on the side of Founders Road.
“Every morning we find more litter and more garbage around the house and around the neighborhood and around the yard. It’s just frustrating because it’s hard to keep clean,” said Kelderman.
Kelderman wishes people took care of their own trash the right way.
“It would be nice if they would clean up after themselves because their property is their responsibility and why would you want to live in a garbage dump. Have some pride in where you live,” said Kelderman.
She’s hoping people will be held more accountable for littering in Lexington County. To combat this issue, the county has hired two code enforcement officers.
In 2019, the county has started their new campaign, "Love Lexington County; Don't Trash It!"
Traude Sander, the Recycling Coordinator for Lexington County, says part of the reason they hired two officers is because of people not securing their trash when transporting it and folks from other counties taking advantage of Lexington’s collection facilities.
“Make sure that those bags are not flying out, mattresses not flying out, and tires are not coming out. Our code enforcement officers also will help ensure that we are not littering by transporting materials in Lexington County that are coming out of those vehicles,” said Sander.
Lexington County hired a four-person litter crew in 2018, and they collected nearly 30,000 pounds of litter last year alone. The county says they found 11 mattresses, 32 pieces of electronic items and 127 tires.
The county says they’ve also partnered with the Babcock Center to help pick up litter around the area. In 2018, their crew collected 745 bags of litter that weighed 2.7 tons.
In 2019, they’ve started a new program called “Lexington County Litter Control Champion.” The hope is to have volunteers in the community to help clean sides of the road and they will provide you with all the tools you need to do that.
“We’ve realized we can’t do this alone and we need help. So we’re calling on help from our residents in Lexington County. All we ask in return is that they tell us how much they’ve picked up, how many bags,” explained Sander.
People a part of this program will receive a safety vest, gloves, a grabber, trash bags and a tarp. All of this is being provided by PalmettoPride. In return for your help, the county says they’ll be recognizing people on their website, County Council meetings and Facebook page.
If you would like to join this program, you are asked to call Sander at 803-785-3340 or send her an email at tsander@lex-co.com.
For those of you who messaged Street Squad Lexington about Founders Road and the trash around the area, the county says they’ll be sending out a crew to Founders Road soon.
If you have an area you think needs to be checked out by the county, you can send them an email at ReportLitter@lex-co.com.
For more tips from the county about littering, click here.
If you have any other stories you would like Street Squad Lexington to cover, make sure to hit me up on my twitter @NicJonesReports and on our Street Squad Lexington Facebook page.