ROCKINGHAM — County and state workers picked up nearly 20 tons more roadside garbage across in 2023 than in the previous year.
According to monthly reports from the Solid Waste Department, employees with the county and the N.C. Department of Transportation cleared 82.32 tons of litter from local roads last year — surpassing the 2022 total of 63.65 tons, which was more than 3 tons higher than in 2021.
All but three months — February, May and June — each saw more than five tons of trash picked up. Four of those nine remaining months — January, March, April and August — each saw more than 9 tons of litter bagged up.
Airport Road continues to remain one of the most consistent problem areas, with 92 bags collected in October (followed by County Home Road and Mill Road with 60 bags and 50 bags, respectively), 39 bags in November, and 15 bags in December.
The final month of 2023 also included 62 bags from Freeman Mill Road, 47 from Sandhill Road and 45 from Mizpah Road.
Clean-up on Airport Road also accounted for 60 of the 216 bags (more than 27%) collected in January of 2024. The weight total for the first month of the year is 2.9 tons.
There was an average of 363.5 bags of trash collected monthly from May-December, with more than 400 bags filled in each October and November.
In addition to generic roadside trash, county workers also tend to find larger items have been dumped.
Reports show the following:
OCTOBER
- Couch on U.S. 1
- Two couches, a recliner and six mattresses on Chestnut Lane
- A car hood on Derby Road
- A wardrobe, mattress and miscellaneous trash on Mary Evans Road
- A mattress on Galestown Road
- Pieces of tables and plywood on Midway Road
NOVEMBER
- Three mattresses on each Haywood Cemetery Road and Old Hwy 74 and one on Millstone Road
- A vinyl swimming pool on Old Cheraw Highway
- A toilet on Scholl Shankle Road
- Construction material on Pemberton Lane
- A recliner and two couches on Seaboard Lane
December
- A mattress on each on Mill Road, Scholl Shankle Road and Safie 6th Street
- A couch and unspecified number of shelves on Mary Wall Road
- A television on Freeman Mill Road
- A television and two couches on Sandhill Road
- A television and two toilets on Stokes Road
There have also been 29 tires picked up from various roads from September 2023 to January 2024.
During that same time period, there were also:
- 11 illegal dumpsites reported and investigated
- 13 garbage burning investigations
- 10 warning citations issued
- 1 case of improper transportation of solid waste
It should be noted that these totals do not include volunteer efforts from local individuals, groups and businesses.
Although February’s statistics are still being compiled, there is at least one case of illegal dumping under investigation.
Last week, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office posted a photo of a truck to its Facebook page, asking for the public’s help in identifying the occupants and owner of the truck.
According to Public Works Director Jerry Austin, there were large piles of construction debris dumped on Old Laurinburg Road and Peggy Mill Road outside of Hamlet.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the sheriff’s office or Richmond County Crime Stoppers at 910-997-5454.
