On Sept. 20, Caltrans wrapped up its “Don’t Trash California” campaign, which sought to rub motorists’ noses in their messes.
Between Aug. 20 and Sept. 20, Caltrans workers and other volunteers collected and displayed more than 5,000 bags of trash from along state highways between Watsonville and Santa Barbara. In Santa Maria, orange and white trash bags stood piled at the northbound Broadway interchange. In SLO, hundreds of trash bags were piled along southbound Highway 101 between the Broad and Marsh offramps.
Caltrans officials said that the litter removal cost $200,000 over the 30-day campaign. The campaign’s goal was to not only make motorists aware of litter’s budgetary and unsightly impacts, but to stop littering at its source.
This article appears in Sep 22-29, 2005.