Don't Trash Arizona - Letter From the Chair
Thank you for caring enough about the beauty of our region to visit the Don’t Trash Arizona! Web site.
Don’t Trash Arizona! is a joint effort among the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to reduce unsightly litter along our state and regional freeways.
As elected officials, we have heard from many of you that you believe freeway litter is a serious concern in our state. It is for us, too.
MAG provided $279 million in funding over the next 20 years to support litter pickup, landscape maintenance and litter education efforts. The good news is the program is already working: the Arizona Department of Transportation has seen a 66 percent reduction in freeway litter complaints since the program was implemented.
Many people don’t think one small item like a gum wrapper or cigarette butt matters—but with 3.7 million people in the Valley, it adds up to a big problem. In fact, crews remove about 1.6 million pounds of litter from our regional roadways every year, at a cost of more than $3 million. It also costs our economy when businesses or tourists don’t come back to our state due to a poor impression.
Not only is roadway litter ugly—it can impact our health and our environment when the toxic chemicals in cigarette butts and other plastics are washed into storm drains and into our groundwater.
Another major problem is unsecured loads. Sixty percent of littering is deliberate, but 40 percent of litter comes from trash or other debris that blows or falls from vehicles such as pickups or trailers. Not all of this debris is made up of paper and lightweight items—mattresses, ladders, couch cushions, bedliners, appliances and camper shells are just a few of the common types of road debris responsible for numerous serious accidents and fatalities each year, not to mention significant traffic delays that cost us in lost productivity.
So what can you do to help? There are some very easy steps people can take to reduce freeway litter:
- Use litterbags and dispose of trash properly.
- Don’t throw trash in the beds of pickups and secure your loads with tarps and tie downs.
- Keep your cigarette butts in the car.
- If you see someone littering from a vehicle in Arizona, please call
1-877-3Litter.
It comes down to the pride you have in the place you live. Protect the unparalleled beauty of our state: please, Don’t Trash Arizona!
Sincerely,
MAG Chair Peggy Neely
Phoenix Councilmember
