WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — The City of West Columbia is cracking down on littering around town.
Littering took the spotlight after the city posted on Facebook saying their sanitation crews picked up 2.25 tons of garbage under the I-26/Highway 1 overpass last Friday. That's 4,500 lbs of trash collected on one day.
To combat the issue, West Columbia has decided to create more awareness for the problem.
Tem Miles is the Mayor Pro Tem of West Columbia and represents District 4 in the city. He says littering has been on their radar.
"We started #TakePrideInTheWestSide campaign. Part of it is an initiative to address some of the littering and the debris problems we've had over the years," said Miles. "We want our city to be clean and look nice."
The city has placed large billboards to bring more awareness to the campaign.
Recently officials have been encouraging the community to bring in water bottles to build a new interactive art display and raise more awareness to keeping the city clean.
Volunteers around the community have also been active for many years to combat the issue but something else needs to be done.
"We've known it's been an issue but as parts in our town get cleaned up and look nicer, it's important for us to address the other issues at all parts of our town can experience in the clean up," Miles explained.
Miles couldn't believe there was over two tons of garbage collected under the overpass alone.
"You ride by that and you know there's a problem with litter but until you actually go over there and pull the covers back and clean it up, you don't understand exactly how much of a problem it is," said Miles.
The mayor pro tem says much of the trash came from people who are sleeping underneath the overpass and drivers tossing trash outside their window.
In some cases, Miles says they have cleaned up areas around town and then a week later they are back in the same condition they were before. According to officials, the West Columbia Police Department will be patrolling the litter prone areas to catch anyone in the act.
State law says the minimum fine for littering is $200. The maximum is $1,087.
"It's not okay. This is our city and this is where we live. We all take pride in it and we need to have a city that's clean and nice for us to live in. Please don't litter in West Columbia," explained Miles.
Littering isn't just a problem in West Columbia. Back in April, Lexington County hired two code enforcement officers and launched a new volunteer program to help eliminate litter within the county.
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 crews collected 745 bags of litter that weighed 2.7 tons.
With a litter program in West Columbia, Miles says they've picked up over 100 bags this year. The mayor pro tem says if you reach out to him or tag him on social media, he'll pick up the bags of litter you've collected.
The city hopes with the community effort, West Columbia will become and remain clean in the future.
"West Columbia is working to continue the progress that we've had over here, and make it the best place you can live and invest and spend your time."