Aura Literary Arts Review is partnering with Green Initiative and, with the support of Sustain at UAB, Green Globe, and SJAC, we will be initiating a project on UAB’s campus to create three sculptures made from repurposed materials which will be displayed around campus. The purpose of the project is to promote awareness of excess garbage production and its widespread consequences. Over the past few weeks, we have released a series of articles to highlight these issues found in our own backyard of Birmingham and its surrounding areas and this is our final installment.
Every litter bit counts. (And Alabama has a lot of it.)
Jefferson County has collected 600 tons of litter off of roadways 
since January of 2021. (1) That is 1.2 million pounds of trash in just 8 months! According to Christopher Burts, litter patrol advisor for Sweeping Corporation of America, Birmingham to Fairfield is one of the trashiest areas in the country. Not even 24 hours goes by after cleaning a single strip before it is already in need of being cleaned again. (2)
Outside of the Birmingham area, over 226,000 pounds of litter was collected in Tuscaloosa alone in 2019. (3) In the same year, Renew our Rivers removed more than 316,000 pounds of trash from Alabama’s lakes and rivers. (4) That is a ton of trash! Well, make that over 271 tons of trash.
How much is this costing the state (besides the lofty environmental costs)? In 2019, the state of Alabama dropped a whopping $6.8 million for statewide litter cleaning. The city of Birmingham spends upwards of $1.9 million each year from that budget, which means that litter cleaning in Birmingham alone uses 28% of the entire state’s litter cleaning budget. Where does this money come from? Taxpayers pockets.
The negative impacts of littering are pretty obviously significant at this point, but if anyone needs further motivation to get trash into proper receptacles: a change in legislature has upgraded littering from a Class C to a Class B misdemeanor. This could entail up to 6 months jail time, fines up to $3,000 (plus court fees), and mandatory community service. (5) To monitor and enforce this, cameras will be installed across Birmingham and those caught littering will be prosecuted. (1)
Need some tips to help keep our land and water litter free? It can be helpful to keep a small bag or container in your car so that you can hold onto litter until you can properly dispose of your trash. You can also visit Litter-bug.org to report any littering or illegal dumping in Alabama.
While there are multiple organizations similar to Renew Our Rivers that are working to remove as much waste as possible from Alabama land and waterways, we as a population need to do our part to stop littering from the very start.
Sources
(1) https://www.wbrc.com/2021/07/02/your-side-taxpayers-paying-staggering-bill-litter-cleanup/
(2) https://wbhm.org/feature/2019/trash-talk-litter-patrol/
(3) https://www.al.com/news/2020/01/trash-costs-cash-roadside-litter-costs-alabama-68-million.html
(5) https://www.wbrc.com/2019/09/02/new-litter-law-now-effect-alabama/
