Litter Cleanup Project

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Board of Supervisors are two entities that traditionally operated with different missions and goals. Yet in response to recent cutbacks in state funding, these two departments are now working together to help keep the County’s roadways clean of litter and overgrowth that has the potential to impair driver safety. The county’s litter project not only fills a gap in existing services created by a lack of state funding, but also promotes cooperation through a creative solution to a serious problem. Within this initiative, the Board of Supervisors accepts, analyzes and filters citizen requests before passing on their assignment to the Sheriff. An off-duty deputy, who is compensated through a special fund set aside by the Board of Supervisors, commands a crew of five prison inmates, who complete the task. The benefits of this cooperation are straightforward: cleaner and safer roads, lower costs for litter pickup, alleviation of jail overcrowding and happier citizens. To date, the Litter Cleanup Project has resulted in the removal of 39,360 pounds of trash and 294 tires from the county’s roadways. Currently, county officials plan to expand the number of vehicles dedicated to the program as well as the number of individuals involved with roadside cleanup.