We have over 118,000 garbage bags. Maricopa County HighwayIn Maricopa County alone, more than 1.8 million pounds of garbage is picked up from highways.
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Don’t Trash Arizona is funded by transportation costs and is implemented by the Maricopa Association of Governments in partnership with the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Kelly Taft, Communications Director, Maricopa Government Association, said:
An e-mail interview with the Arizona Department of Transportation reveals a cleanup operation in 2022 that “122,218 bags of garbage weighing approximately 837 tons were maintained on Maricopa County highways from the state of Arizona.” became. Compared to 2021, litter along the Maricopa Highway has increased by 3%, he said.
In October 2022, Don’t Trash Arizona released its “Litter Assessment Study,” stating, “There continues to be a disconnect between perceptions of what constitutes littering and what littering actually is, with the most It turns out that the items that are being used tend to be food. other small items. ”
“Cigarette butts are a very common type of trash.It is very difficult for the crew to actually pick them up off the road because they are such small items. You can stay,” Taft said.
Littering takes a toll on our pockets as well as the planet. Taxpayers are paying her $5 million in cleaning costs and her $150,000 in work hours to keep our streets clean.
In 2022, only 37% of those surveyed were found to be “extremely concerned” about the cost of garbage pickup for taxpayers.
In total, 24% of residents reported littering food and organic matter last year, 1% less than the 25% who littered food in 2021.
“Many people do not want to leave apple cores and banana peels in their cars. “Hmm,” said Taft.
According to the “Waste Evaluation Survey,” “more than two-thirds or 69% of the residents surveyed [in 2022] We believed that litter along the Maricopa County highway was a “major” or “medium” problem. This ties in with the highest value of 69% measured in 2019.
“It’s very difficult to change behavior,” Taft said. “First you have to change your mindset, then you have to change your attitude to do something about the problem, and then you have to change people’s behavior.”
Years of research show that general awareness of garbage ads in Arizona jumped 27% in 2019 compared to 19% in 2018. Awareness in 2022 is 14%, the same as in 2020.
“There’s no cost other than not taking action. It’s something I keep coming back to. It’s not that you have to go out and do something. You have to go out and do something.” You just have to.”
11% of those who saw an ad against littering recalled that the main slogan of the ad was “Don’t Litter Arizona.”
“Our campaign is based on the idea that Arizona is our home, and we believe that most of us treat individual homes with respect, so this beautiful state we live in. We should do the same with the apartment complexes that are,” Taft said.
