FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Last week, News13 showed you how Horry County plans to up its enforcement regarding litter. Officials in Florence County say they have the same thing in mind.
At its most recent meeting, county council discussed steps to stop litterbugs.”Myself and members of the justice and public safety committee have been meeting and working on the litter problem in Florence County very aggressively for about the last year,” said Herbie Christmas.
Christmas is with the county’s environmental services and since last year his department has used cameras and operation stings to help deflate the amount of trash being thrown out.
He says that cutbacks in the legal system, due to the cost of incarceration, actually cutback on the amount of trashed picked up.
“That actually caused our litter pick up program to be discontinued. Basically for the last four years we have not picked up any trash with inmates,” Christmas explained.
Last week, the county decided to add another full-time litter control officer, along with working with Palmer’s Prelease Program to start up a 5 day a week litter pick-up program.
“We got some parts of the county that don’t have any trouble with and some parts we have a lot more than other places, but it’s everywhere,” mentioned Christmas.
The county also added prima fascia to its litter ordinance, which means if they are able to identify you with the trash that they can conduct an investigation.
Plus, the amounts you pay in violations have increased. Between the actual violation and court fees, a litter violation can cost over $500. If the trash is over 15 lbs. then it could cost over $1,000.
Christmas says the department has even started placing cameras in different areas.
