A sex toy kit. A fully-built shed. Some driver’s licenses. A pair of pants caught in a storm drain.
Brian Mackey and Sherry Miller, Ohio Department of Transportation highway technicians, have seen their fair share of litter on the sides of Ohio’s roadways – some gross and some mysterious.
Once or twice a week, ODOT crews spend their shifts along the side of the road, trash pickers in hand, scouring the grass for a stray to-go cup.
Penalties for littering in Ohio can be as much as $500 in fines and 60 days in jail. The Ohio State Highway Patrol reported giving out 90 citations in 2021 and so far this year as of May 31, OSHP has handed out 34 citations.
Despite the fines, ODOT continues to collect hundreds of thousands of bags of trash annually.
“I wish people would stop littering,” Miller said. “We just do the best we can, but there’s so many people on the roads nowadays.”
The cost of litter
Littering carries a big price tag for Ohioans.
On average, Ohio taxpayers spend $4 million a year on litter clean-up. The money covers worker salaries, trash bags, trash disposal and more.
ODOT spokesperson Matt Bruning said that’s $4 million that isn’t available for building sidewalks, creating safe crosswalks and paving roads.
But right now, it’s being used to collect about 400,000 bags of trash annually. That’s enough for 20 bags of trash for every seat in Nationwide Arena in Columbus, nearly 10 bags for every seat in Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati or just over 11 bags for every seat in Progressive Field in Cleveland.
Brooke Ebersole, ODOT District 6 spokesperson, works in eight counties. She’s seen ODOT crews have to go from paving potholes to picking up large pieces of trash.
“It’s the only thing we do here that’s 100% preventable,” Ebersole said.
“I don’t know about you, but I’ve never gone to a gas station or restaurant where there’s no trash cans,” Bruning said. “Most people have trash cans in their house. It’s not hard to find a place to properly put those items.”
