ROCKINGHAM – Nearly every food eaten, item bought, and product used results in the creation of some amount of waste. When thought about, everything from the cardboard boxes and styrofoam forms designed to protect items during shipping, to fast food wrappers, even down to the fingernail sized sticker on an orange are examples of trash.
What comes across as seemingly minuscule amounts of such, when added together over time and complied with that of other area residents, certainly adds up.
Especially when its not disposed of properly.
In 2017 alone, over 115 tons of debris, filling more than 7,500 trash bags, was collected from more than 367 different roadside sites across Richmond County. An additional 917 tires were also retrieved from Richmond County’s roadsides, while 23 illegal dumping sites were investigated in more detail.
Fortunately for the citizens of Richmond County, Solid Waste Enforcement Officer Allen Hodges and his team are on the case.
Housing several full-time employees, and costing roughly $175,000 annually, this county-funded program strives to keep Richmond County clean in more ways than one.
Part of the Solid Waste Enforcement Department’s focus is on the investigation and elimination of illegal dumping sites throughout the county. As published on North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality’s website, “illegal dumping, also known as ‘midnight’ dumping, is the term used to describe disposing of waste in unauthorized areas.”
Members of Hodges’s department work hard to find such sites, determine who’s responsible for the waste, and issue fines and penalties as necessary. Illegal dumping may seem harmless to some, but it is actually an environmental crime that the Solid Waste Enforcement Department takes very seriously. With charges ranging from misdemeanor to felony, illegal dumping in Richmond County comes with fines that can be rather hefty.
Another, perhaps larger, focus of Hodges and his team is to keep our roadsides rubbish free.
Working alongside the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the Richmond County Solid Waste Enforcement department works diligently to monitor roadways for the illegal disposal of items ranging from trash and tires, to shingles, construction materials and other solid debris.
Of course, these efforts would not be complete without the help of community service workers, individual volunteers, and industry sponsored clean up days. In total, these unpaid laborers dedicated over 1,000 hours to this cause in 2017.
According to County Manager, Bryan Land, the ongoing grudge match against roadside garbage impacts more than just area residents, and therefore carries even more importance.
“The roadside solid waste collection program is important if not only for the fact to keep our county clean, but to also improve the overall perception for our citizens and others who pass through our county while traveling to another destination,” Land explained.
Looking ahead to 2018, Land explains that, “Richmond County plans to continue its coordinated effort with the NCDOT and anticipates on adding another employee to the Solid Waste Enforcement Department to assist in additional cleanup of roadways.”
Meanwhile, Land and Hodges would both like to remind residents that there are things they can do to help with these efforts to keep county curbsides clean.
In addition to putting all trash, large and small, in an appropriate receptacle, when dealing with larger waste, “we would like remind all residents to please secure/tarp their waste when transporting to the nearest disposal facility and refrain from using empty barrels.”
“Empty barrels and unsecured waste end up on our roadside and is completely preventable,” Land expanded. “This would be a big step forward to limiting the amount of debris we see as we travel the roads throughout our county.”
For more information regarding the county’s roadside clean up efforts, contact the Richmond County Solid Waste Enforcement Department at 910-997-8215.
