NAPS Spring Highway Pickup Clears 25 Bags of Trash

The Northumberland Association for Progressive Stewardship (NAPS) performed a roadside trash pickup Monday, April 29, 2019 along Route 200 from Wicomico Church to the Tipers Bridge at the Great Wicomico River. The crew of 11 removed enough litter to fill 25 extra-large bags, plus bottles and cans to be recycled.

“There seems to be an increasing amount of whole bags of trash being tossed from vehicles,” said Janice Mahoney, NAPS Highway Cleanup Committee chair. “Our crew found over a dozen this time…mostly grocery bag sized."

“I wish everyone had pride in the Northern Neck and would stop throwing trash out of their vehicles,” said Mike Ahart, NAPS president. “If we and other concerned citizens and organizations were not regularly cleaning up the roadsides, that trash would wash into the creeks, rivers and Bay harming the wildlife and water quality, not to mention how it clogs the drainage making flooding and erosion worse. These volunteers can only do so much…a lot of harm is being done to our county by thoughtless people.”

According to the Code of Virginia (§33.1-346), littering is a misdemeanor punishable by confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not less than $250 or more than $2,500, either or both. When litter is observed being ejected or removed from a motor vehicle, the owner or operator of the motor vehicle is presumed to be the person ejecting or disposing of the litter.

Lancaster County, Kilmarnock City and some other municipalities have additional littering/dumping ordinances. According to Lancaster County code (§54-29), littering is a misdemeanor punishable a fine of not less than $25.00 nor more than $500.00 and by imprisonment for not more than 30 days in jail, either or both. If the litter includes articles bearing a person's name and address, it is presumed that the named person is the one who disposed of the litter.

Photo Captions (from top):

NAPS Highway Cleanup Crew members (from left): Mike Ahart, Janice Mahoney, Ralph Hendrickson, Martha Tallent, Arthur Carver, Don Imbur, Alice Imbur, Bill Estell, Alice Stieve, Joe Stieve, and Charles Smith.

Arthur Carver finds a whole bag of trash on the roadside.

Seven whole bags of trash plus other items found and retrieved from down a hill from the roadway, apparently dumped from a vehicle.