Although it is often forgotten among other environmental concerns — contamination from “forever chemicals,” air pollution, climate change — litter is very much a threat to North Carolinians’ health and the natural environment. And it’s a costly one.
That’s according to a new study on the financial impact of litter in North Carolina, which found the state spent at least $56.3 million in 2023 to clean up 14.6 million pounds of trash. North Carolina taxpayers footed the bill for the majority of the work, including at least $25 million spent by the N.C. Department of Transportation and at least $22.4 million spent by 19 cities with populations over 30,000, including Fayetteville.
“Litter can be found everywhere in North Carolina: on roadsides, on the landscape, and in our waterways. Not only is litter unsightly, it’s also costly,” according to the study, which was conducted by the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, Haw River Assembly, Cape Fear River Watch, MountainTrue and the NC Conservation Network.
Forty-four nonprofits also participated in the study. They reported contributing $1.9 million worth of unpaid labor toward litter cleanup, collecting 898,642 pounds of trash from waterways, roadways, beaches and lands.
Sustainable Sandhills, an environmental nonprofit which participated in the study, told CityView it picked up or facilitated the pick-up of more than 20,000 pounds of litter in 2024 in Cumberland County. That’s the equivalent of 17 cows in weight, the group said.
The participating cities, which represent about 4.4 million people, reported spending an average of $5 per person on litter cleanup and prevention in fiscal year 2023-2024.
“This number is an underestimate as, in many cases, cities could not provide cost numbers for certain categories if the activity was lumped in with an employee’s other duties,” the study authors noted. “This number also ignores the costs incurred by counties or small city governments, which provide services to another six million North Carolinians.”
The study also found that between 59% and 95% of the trash collected was plastic.
Responses
Volunteers and government employees working in waste management submitted anonymous comments as part of the study.
“We receive calls all the time about people carelessly throwing trash and cigarette butts out of their vehicles,” one NCDOT employee said. “The biggest complaint we receive concerns uncovered/unsecured loads. Trash is flying out of the back of the trucks while they are driving on busy highways.”
Local government employees also reported a lack of resources to address the problem.
“Roadside litter is common and is currently being addressed through a contract that is only temporarily funded via ARPA grant funds,” a City of Asheville employee said. The federal American Rescue Plan Act included money for local governments during the Covid-19 pandemic. The employee said once the funds run out in fiscal year 2025-2026, “it is unclear how we will continue roadside litter collection activities.”
Volunteers advocated for solutions that address the root causes of litter, rather than the symptoms.
“I don’t think the cleanups are able to adequately address the amount of pollution in our community,” one volunteer said. “The cleanup sites are constantly accumulating litter and they’re usually full of trash again when another cleanup is hosted. It’s better than nothing, but the cleanups aren’t enough by themselves to keep the pollution levels down.”
Solutions
The study presented a number of solutions to the litter problem:
- Continue funding NCDOT cleanup efforts.
- Implement a bottle deposit program: This would give consumers a small refund (typically 5 to 10 cents) when they return a bottle to the place where they bought it. North Carolina currently does not have a bottle deposit program, though such a bill was introduced in the N.C. House last year.
- Reinstate local government action on plastic waste: Local governments in North Carolina currently do not have the authority to regulate single-use plastics. If they did, they could impose fees on plastics or prohibit certain plastic containers, like plastic grocery bags. Senate Bill 166, which would reinstate local government authority on plastic waste, was filed on Feb. 26 in the General Assembly.
- Leverage existing water quality policies: North Carolina could use clean water laws to legally limit trash in rivers and lakes. Similar to how Los Angeles was forced to clean up its river in 2001, the state could set a “no trash” rule and make local governments responsible for enforcing it.
- “Skipping the Stuff” to reduce single-use plastic consumption: Instead of automatically giving out plastic utensils and condiment packets, restaurants could only provide them when customers ask. This change helps businesses save money on supplies while also cutting down on unnecessary plastic waste. A bill to enact this policy was proposed in the General Assembly in 2023.
- Require Extended Producer Responsibility: EPR policies shift the cost of managing waste from taxpayers to the companies that produce it, making them financially responsible for the pollution they create. Such policies force corporations to pay for cleaning up the litter their products generate.
Residents can also get involved in local clean-up efforts. Sustainable Sandhills, for example, hosts litter clean-ups most months on the second Saturday. Fayetteville Beautiful and Cumberland Clean also host litter pick-up events periodically, and they will give out supplies for self-led community clean-ups at Sustainable Sandhills’ Earth Day festival on April 12.
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608. This story was made possible by donations from readers like you to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
Perhaps shift responsibility to those that are littering. My subdivision is off of Yadkin Rd. We are bordered by 295 and the All American. Parents need to teach their children not to litter, but wait those parents are littering. Children are great imitators. Community service for those caught littering and that community service to include picking up litter! In my community we clean up the litter but have to take it home because no one will pick it up! Waste management says it isn’t their problem. Code enforcement not our problem, parks and recreation not our problem! I can’t drag the old recliner to my house to dispose of nor will it fit in my car to haul to the dump. Although that is a separate problem really, illegal dumping of goods such as chairs, mattresses, toilets, or tires! Obviously not thrown out or a vehicle window. I would also add that we may have picked up one or two plastic utensils in the last 3 years. The trash we pick up in large quantities are plastic bottles of every beverage type, cans, cups, bottles, and empty cigarette packs.