SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. — The sound of cars breaks the silence in Dave Watt's rural East Sumter neighborhood.
Many travelers are headed to the Sumter County Landfill, just miles away from his home on Florence Highway.
"I'd like to count the number of vehicles that come by here," Watt said. "I pick up trash every Saturday morning.... This is an ongoing problem. It has been for years."
He says drivers will toss trash out of their windows or it will blow off the back of their trucks.
As he looked over bottles, food, and cans blown into his yard Thursday, he said, he'd reached his last straw.
"This is just outrageous. I'm not going to pick this up," Watt said. "There's dirty baby diapers and everything out here."
He says he called Sumter County before calling News19.
"I was told that somebody was going to pick it up, but nobody has made any attempt yet," Watt said. "So, I thought about y'all."
News19 spoke to local law enforcement, County Council, and County Public Works in search of solutions.
County Councilwoman Vivian Fleming-McGhaney said there is work being done to address the issue.
"We have had many, many complaints about litter," Fleming-McGhaney said. "We have employees that go out and pick up, we have volunteers, and we have also established an advisory board.”
Part of the advisory board's strategic plan includes separating the county into quadrants to address litter one section at a time starting in November.
The county has also purchased equipment, hosted community clean up days with the city, and is working to hire additional staff.
"Right now, we're taking employees off of working on roads to pick up litter," Public Works Director Karen Hyatt said. "So, sometimes it might be a while before we get to the litter, but it is on our focus…. A lot of it is just going to be education and enforcement of litter laws.”
Maj. Randall Steward with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office said tying down loads of garbage is required by law to keep debris from flying off and littering can cost offenders hundreds of dollars or even jail time.
"Our codes enforcement individuals have been a lot more aggressive lately because of the increase in litter issues," Maj. Stewart said, "and if they can identify who owns the trash on a dump site, they will locate those individuals and they... can give them a fine or they can give them an opportunity to clean it up and serve community service.”
Watt hopes the solution will come soon.
"I mean, I know it’s a big problem. I know it’d be hard to take care of, but people out here been trying to do something for a long time," Watt said.
Sumter County is hosting a 'Stash the Trash' county cleanup event on November 5 to discuss the issue in more detail and provide interactive and educational opportunities for residents.
It will be at the Sumter County Civic Center from 11AM to 1PM.