At approximately 11:50 a.m. Friday, a woman in a maroon Volkswagen Jetta came to a stop at a red light in front of Bojangles on U.S. 72, rolled down her window and dumped out no less than 10 cigarette butts onto the road, according to a citizen who witnessed the deed and sent a message to Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful’s anonymous litter hotline.

It was the first one they had gotten in months, which KALB Executive Director Lynne Hart said is a problem.

“I’ve been here since 1999, and I have seen big improvements when it comes to litter in Limestone County, but lately it seems to be getting worse again,” she said. “And I don’t quite know what is causing it.”

That’s where the KALB hotline comes in. Citizens can report an incident by calling 256-233-8000, filing a report online at www.kalbcares.com or emailing Hart at KALBcares@gmail.com.

Hart said the more information provided, the better, too. Date, location, time of day, the offender’s license plate number, a description of the vehicle and an account of the incident are all helpful to Hart, who turns the information over to the authorities in Limestone County or Athens City, depending on where it happened.

“We need to know if the litter is coming from individual vehicles, uncovered loads on trucks passing through or from our county or city trash trucks,” Hart said. “That will give us a better idea of why these things are happening so that we can develop a better method of fixing the issue.”

According to Hart, once the complaint is passed on to the appropriate authorities, they are supposed to send an official letter to the owner of the vehicle, informing them that they had been caught littering.

“A person who receives one of these letters won’t be fined or ticketed because the incident didn’t involve the authorities,” Hart said. “It’s intended to remind them that it takes everyone in the community to make this a safe cleaner place to live and work.”

“In order for a deputy or officer to issue a ticket for littering, they have to witness it,” she added.

Stephen Young, spokesman for the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, said he doubts the sheriff’s office issues a lot of littering tickets, if any.

“We run four officers on a shift, so I doubt they ever get the chance to see it,” he said. “Most people don’t litter when they have a sheriff’s car behind them.”

Hart agreed that most people behave when a squad car is nearby.

“That’s why we need the hotline. It gives us more eyes on the road,” she said.

Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks said he shares Hart’s passion for keeping Athens litter-free.

“I have in the last number of years got out of my vehicle at an intersections and picked up litter that was on the sides of the street,” he said. “We — and I mean the capital WE — all need to be making an effort to clean up our community. It’s a job we can all do.”

“Litter on the sides of our roads does not reflect well on this community,” he added. “I want us to represent Athens to those coming into this community better than that.”

Marks said the situation has become so dire, “we might need to look at writing tickets to those who throw out litter.”

A 2007 ordinance gives the city the right to issue a ticket for no more than $200 plus court costs to those who are caught littering.

To Marks’ knowledge, a ticket for littering has never been issued by the city.

The Mayor pointed out that the city provide funding for a part-time employee who takes Limestone County Jail inmates to areas with high volumes of litter three times per week.

Litter hotspots

Hart said that litter is a problem throughout Athens and Limestone County, but certain areas are worse than others.

“Highway 72 is atrocious,” she said, “The expanse of road west of Jefferson Street to Seven Mile Post gets pretty bad as does the area out by Clements High School.”

She included Elm Street, Alabama 127 and the ditches north of the city as other problem areas.

“We need to bring the problem to people’s attention, explain to them why they should care, if they don’t understand the reasons that litter is bad, that its a harmful thing to the community and ecosystem they have no reason to change their habits,” she said.

Hart believes that stricter enforcement of litter laws by the authorities and diligent reporting to the KALB hotline will cut down on the garbage that mars Limestone County’s landscapes. Litter spottings can also be reported anonymously to the Athens Police Department by calling 256-233-8700.

Adopt-a-Spot Program

For those who want to help clean up Limestone County’s act, KALB offers the Adopt-a-Spot program. The program gives groups, individuals or families the chance to keep a problem area picked up and clean.

Participants who clean up their designated site at least once per month can earn a $50 check for the civic or nonprofit organization of their choice after three consecutive visits. Although Hart said that while she hopes participants will choose sites in both the city and county, only those who work on the city side will receive the financial reward because the money comes out of an appropriation given to KALB by Athens.

KALB also offers support to individuals or groups who want to put together their own environmentally beneficial projects.