Why is litter along Puyallup highways ‘much worse’ this year? Mayor asks state for help
Litter is not an unusual sight for Puyallup Mayor Jim Kastama, especially when he drives along state routes 167 and 512.
On the morning of March 11, Kastama took a News Tribune reporter on a ridealong. He pointed out freeway exits near Puyallup with piles of trash, including a green plastic swimming pool that had been there for months.
“Pierce County is being neglected,” he told The News Tribune.
Kastama and his wife often collect litter in the city. The Riverwalk Trail is their usual spot.
The trash along SR 512 and SR 167 has become more pronounced within the last couple of months, he said.
It’s “much worse,” than previous years, he said.
Kastama reached out for help from the state Department of Transportation (WSDOT). He sent an email to the agency Feb. 16, requesting trash pickup in the vicinity of Puyallup along SR 512 and SR 167.
Kastama said litter must become a priority for state legislators and the governor. Lawmakers must understand that litter and graffiti set the tone for the state, he said.
It took a while for Kastama to connect with the state Department of Ecology, he said, which handles “smaller garbage” for WSDOT. Ecology did not respond to him until The News Tribune reached out to the agency, he said.
The state’s litter pickup crews need a scheduled routine, Kastama said, so it becomes a systematic process and not a one-time event.
“The condition of our roadsides is an embarrassment,” Kastama wrote in an email. “The fact that our lawmakers aren’t embarrassed should trouble everyone.”
WSDOT works with groups such Ecology, the state Department of Corrections and Adopt-a-Highway to remove litter. Ecology also works with groups such as the state Parks and Recreation Commission and the state Department of Natural Resources to do the same.
Ecology Deputy Communications Director Andrew Wineke wrote in an email that the agency’s litter pickup crews are off the road in the winter for safety reasons such as weather and limited daylight.
Litter tends to pile up during those months, Wineke said.
“It’s just very challenging to have people working on the shoulders during those months,” Wineke said.
As of March 20, litter pickup crews are in training, Wineke said. They should be cleaning along highways and interstates in the next several weeks. Motorists should begin noticing some improvements soon, he said.
Wineke said Ecology must coordinate a plan with WSDOT regarding the SR 512 ramps between the South Hill Mall and the Washington State Fair due to safety concerns. Those sections could take a few months to clean up, he said.
In April, litter pickup crews will begin work on shoulders and interchanges they can safely clean, Wineke said.
“This is high on our priority list, so we hope people will begin seeing improvements in the coming weeks,” he said.
WSDOT Communications Consultant April Leigh wrote in an email that the agency has never had a dedicated litter crew on regular shifts nor the funding to do so. This is why partnerships with other groups are “so important,” she said.
“WSDOT crews remove roadkill or large items like mattresses from live lanes of traffic for safety concerns,” Leigh said. “Ecology is the state litter funded agency.”
Roadside debris has been a growing problem, Leigh said. It became worse when the COVID-19 pandemic restricted and suspended some clean-up activities for almost a year and a half, Leigh said.
$12 million per year on litter removal
WSDOT and Ecology spend about $12 million per year on litter removal.
According to Ecology’s litter study in 2022, there are about 73,580 pieces of litter (1,579 pounds) per mile every year on interstate highways. That same year crews collected over 5.4 million pounds of litter from about 16,000 miles of road.
Ecology’s litter pickup report in 2022 shows that crews spent about 13,000 hours in Pierce County – the highest amount of time out of 12 counties in southwest Washington. Crews also collected over 321,000 pounds of litter in the county, which is the third-highest amount out of the 12 counties in southwest Washington.
“While this work is ongoing and a step in the right direction, there is more litter than our crews can reasonably collect, which is why prevention is so important to the overall effort,” Leigh said.
Ecology has a litter prevention campaign called Keep Washington Litter Free. The agency advises travelers to keep a litter bag in their vehicle, and to cover and secure items when hauling in a pickup or trailer, among other things.
Those who litter or drive with an unsecured vehicle load can get up to a $5,000 fine, according to state law.
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