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IN THIS ISSUE:
- How Trash and Litter Affect Stormwater Quality
- 4 Simple Ways to Minimize Trash and Litter This New Year
- Why Securing Your Load in Your Vehicle is Important
- Resolve to Adopt A Storm Drain in 2020
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How Trash and Litter Affect Stormwater Quality
We’ve all seen it: paper, aluminum cans, plastic wrappers, discarded food bags, plastic bags, bottles, and cigarette butts on the side of the road or on the sidewalk. Over time, these small amounts of trash around your home and neighborhood build up and contribute to a big water quality problem.
How? As water flows over the urban landscape, it picks up and carries whatever it comes into contact with along the way where it then flows into our storm drains—which then go into our city’s three beautiful waterways (Markham Ravine, Auburn Ravine, and Raccoon Creek). The trash and litter adversely affect water bodies and their ecosystems and can clog storm drains and cause flooding, which can damage homes and businesses.
You can make a difference through simple actions. Continue reading to learn how.
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Four Simple Ways to Minimize Trash and Litter This New Year
Changing an undesirable behavior, like littering, starts with you! Did you know that 80% of litter that ends up in our waterways originate from land? As we enter a new year, you can pledge to make a difference and help to inspire the actions of others around you at home, at school, in your place of business, and in the community at large. Below are 4 simple tips you can do to make a positive impact in 2020:
- Don’t overfill your trash bin and keep its lid secure.
- If you see litter and trash in your neighborhood, pick it up and properly dispose of it in a trash receptacle.
- Remember to bring a bag for trash when hiking, camping, or at any outdoor activity.
- Keep a reusable bag in the car to prevent litter from going out car windows.
Let’s keep Lincoln and our waterways looking beautiful and clean. Pledge to pick up 10 pieces of litter from your community every week and encourage friends, family, co-workers, teachers, and classrooms to do the same. Together we can make a difference.
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Why Securing Your Load in Your Vehicle is Important
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Image credit: Dalton Whitfield Solid Waste Authority
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When we think of littering, we often think of the direct action of someone throwing trash on the ground or out their window. But litter also comes from people failing to secure their loads with a tarp before driving.
In fact, according to the Director of Caltrans, uncovered loads are the #1 cause of roadside litter even though there’s a CA law requiring loads to be covered. If you are transporting items, make sure that you cover your loads with a tarp and fasten it to your vehicle with rope and tie-downs. This will not only support safety on our roads, but it will also help to prevent stormwater pollution from trash that may otherwise be blown out of the vehicle!
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Resolve to Adopt a Storm Drain in 2020!
- Why? Proper care of storm drains prevents flooding and stormwater pollution while keeping your neighborhood clean!
- How? Here are some helpful tips from Adopt-A-Drain:
- Tools - Use a broom, rake, or shovel. Collect the debris in a pail or container.
- Safety - Use gloves to protect your hands if any items are sharp or can otherwise harm you. Consider wearing clothing that is reflective or bright to ensure you’re visible to cars.
- Not Just the Drains - Clearing debris from streets and sidewalks is just as helpful because anything left on the pavement flows into the storm drains.
- Separate and Dispose of Waste - When you collect the debris, ensure you separate it correctly into one of the three categories (trash, recycling, and green waste).
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Remember—Clean Water Starts With You!
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