Litter cleanup underway in Sussex County

SUSSEX Co., Del. – Sussex County is tackling roadside litter, one piece of trash at a time.

If you’ve recently driven through the county, you may have noticed inmates with the Delaware Department of Corrections filling up trash bags with litter on the sides of the roads. It’s all part of the Roadside Litter Collection Program.

Michael Costello, the Government Affairs Manager for Sussex County explained, “The Roadside Litter Collection Program operates off of a cooperative effort between the citizens and the county. [The citizens] might call in complaints in the areas where they see the litter collecting on the side of the roads, and the county will compile a list and forward them to the Department of Corrections to schedule them for clean ups such as this.”

In the first six months of this program, we’re told about a thousand trash bags were filled and 82 miles of roadway were covered.

Costello said, “A lot of litter and debris was cleaned up.”

While the Delaware Department of Transportation and the Delaware Department of Corrections provide the hands that clean these roads, the county provides money to help move this environmentally friendly program forward.

Costello said, “We provide overtime funding for additional staff to be out here collecting litter along the roadways that our citizens are notifying us of.”

Since this program has been so successful, Sussex County leaders hope this will inspire others to follow suit.

Costello said, “It’s nice to be part of some form of solution so we’re just hoping that this will catch on and maybe some other agencies will see that this agreement is working and this cooperation is working and try to incorporate that into their way that they do business.”

If you have a road in Sussex County that you want to see cleaned up, you can submit a request on the county’s website.