The city of Jackson plans to curb litter with an educational campaign that promises additional enforcement and even the closure of streets that have become dump sites.
The city has also contracted with a nonprofit to remove litter from the city’s major thoroughfares
The council voted on Jan. 17 to hire New Way Mississippi to remove litter from the city’s major streets. New Way Mississippi is a nonprofit that provides service to low income and disenfranchised populations.
New Way Mississippi, which will be paid $25,000 a month for an 11-month contract, will provide 10 laborers for two cleanup crews and crew chiefs plus a project manager to work with the city’s solid waste division. The project manager will monitor all activities, the crew chief will supervise the crews and the crew members will be responsible for sorting, collecting and loading litter into trucks and dumpsters.
The contract will cover the period from Feb. 1 through Jan. 31, 2024 and is not to exceed $300,000. New Way is expected to provide a weekly report outlining the areas cleaned and work completed.
Lakesha Weathers, solid waste division manager for the city of Jackson, told the council during the Jan. 17 meeting that the city had a list of “several streets that need to be addressed” and went on to name Northside Drive, Raymond Road and McDowell Road.
One of the council members inquired about a plan for determining which streets would have litter removed and Weathers said there was no plan at that time and that she would have speak with the contractor.
Angelique C. Lee, who represents Ward Two on the city council, pointed out that $300,000 is not a lot of money to spend on litter removal.
Litter is an issue throughout the city, even including Eastover in northeast Jackson.
“It seems like a lot of it flies out of truck beds,” said Dana F. Robertson, executive director of the Greater Eastover Neighborhood Foundation. “We have a lot of walkers in our neighborhood, and many of them carry bags and pick up any litter they see. Fortunately, we don’t have a lot!”
Ken Wilson, president of the Ridgewood Park Neighborhood Association, said litter is a chronic problem in Jackson. “It’s a chronic issue that I think deserves a significant amount of attention,” he said.
In the Ridgewood Park neighborhood, residents pick up litter regularly on Saturday mornings.
“The goal is to do it every Saturday after both trash collection days,” he said. “Some folks do it on Sunday because there’s a lot of litter dumped on Ridgewood Road after Saturday night.”
Residents throughout the city are impacted by trash and it’s not an issue one person can solve, Wilson said.
“We need those elected to serve or who volunteer to serve to do it on a consistent basis and to put out literature,” he said. “There needs to be consensus that Jackson is a place we desire to be clean.”
Wilson said he would like there to be repercussions for people who litter.
“Make sure people understand it’s a serious issue and won’t be tolerated,” he said. “People feel comfortable littering here because we don’t have as much oversight as we should in our city. We’re absent when it comes to enforcing the laws about littering and dumping.”
Keeping the city free of litter will take both the city, county and state, Wilson said.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation is responsible for removing litter from the interstates around Jackson.
MDOT spends about $3.2 million annually on litter cleanup and prevention, said David Kenney, public information officer for the department.
MDOT’s litter removal efforts involve partnership with local cities and sheriff departments, the department’s volunteer based Adopt a Highway program, and the department’s cleanup events
“Last year, it is estimated that in the fiscal year of 2022 more than 171,120 bags of litter were removed from state highways due to these efforts.
At the core of MDOT’s litter prevention program is the “Don’t Trash Mississippi” educational outreach, Kenney said.
“We believe that reaching our future generations is quintessential to helping stop the litter problem we have, by informing the next generation to be more environmentally conscious and conservative.,” he said. “We speak to groups of all ages about the effects litter has on us, our environment, and our future. Last year, these efforts reached more than 18,636 participants.”
The city announced on Jan. 30 a new program, “Stop Trashing Jackson,” that will begin with a cleanup campaign on March 4. The city plans to work with Keep Jackson Beautiful and other partners.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the goal is to eliminate litter and change the culture in the city.
“This is a problem that rests deep within our neighborhoods, deep within the businesses within our communities, deep within our church community,” he said. “And so, as my mother would say, if you don’t show love or if you don’t respect your home, no one else will.”
Controlled burns at dumping sites and the closure of streets that are being used for illegal dumping were mentioned as possibilities.
