On Nov. 21, Governor Phil Bredesen and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely announced $3.8 million in litter grants would be divided and given to Tennessee's 95 counties.
These grants have been given annually since Tennessee's Litter Grant Bill was passed in 1981.
Approximately $3 million is awarded annually, making this year's grants higher than usual.
"The distribution to each county is based on population and road miles so the amount varies from county to county. The minimum grant was $29,237 and the maximum grant was $242,052, which went to Shelby county," said TDOT Public Information Officer Julie Oaks.
The Litter Grant Bill gets its funding from taxes on malt beverage and soft drink companies.
"This was a self-imposed tax so that these industries could do their part to reduce litter along our roadways," said Oaks.
People who pick up the roadside litter are both paid workers and volunteers.
The majority of roadside litter pickup comes from paid contract workers, like roadside mowers, outside of TDOT.
According to TDOT's maintenance litter pickup figures, $5,031,170 was paid to contract workers, while $1,309,187 was paid to TDOT employees.
Volunteer work mainly comes from volunteers participating in various Tennessee programs including Adopt-A-Highway, Keep Tennessee Beautiful, and Great American Cleanup.
Each county is required to use between 15 percent and 30 percent of all grant money towards educational programs.
The specific segments that are targeted for these programs include students, adults, media, government, and business.
Each county uses their education money as they see best fit. Contests, events, adopt-a-street programs, and public service announcements are just some of the many examples of education programs.
"The trash problem is definitely getting better. Keep Tennessee Beautiful measures the reduction in roadside litter each in year in affiliate counties and cities as part of their affiliation with Keep America Beautiful.
Those survey results show a definite reduction in litter. Of course we have a long way to go," said Oaks.
Litter is not only a problem on Tennessee's roads, but also here at MTSU.
"The litter situation here at MTSU hasn't noticeably improved or gotten worse in the twenty years I've worked here," said Ground's Supervisor Dale Witty. "One issue we have had to deal with in more recent years is campus gathering spots. Places like in front of dorms, around Cyber, and Greek row are some of the places that have seen an increase in litter."
Approximately 120 work-hours are put into litter pick up weekly by grounds services.
These hours include twelve 7:30-9 A.M. litter pickup shifts every weekday, one 6-10 A.M. litter pickup shift on both Saturday and Sunday, and the three hours is takes everyday for someone to change the over 100 trash cans on campus.
MTSU has a policy that punishes students who are caught littering on campus.
According to the website for the Office of Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services "dispersing litter in any form onto the grounds of facilities of the campus" is a punishable offense.
This action is not brought up as often as other violations like drugs and alcohol in the judicial affairs office.
"We only see about two cases a year on littering," said Dean of Judicial Affairs Laura Sosh-Lightsy.
"Litter is unsafe, unsightly, and costly. It is dangerous on the roadways and makes it look as if we don't care about our state," said Julie Oaks regarding litter in Tennessee.
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