|
 The
City of Lufkin is beginning a campaign to deter people and
businesses from littering.
Purple signs reading "Purple Pride Do Not Litter," will be
placed around Lufkin, warning people they can receive fines
up to $500 if they are caught littering.
Assistant Director of Solid Waste and Recycling Lynn
Winthrop says that the campaign is about community pride.
"With all of the positive things happening in Lufkin, we
don't want to get bogged down with unsightly trash blowing
along our roadways and clogging up our drainage ditches,."
Deputy City Manager Keith Wright, who had the idea for
the campaign, said that "we have a real litter problem in
the community," and says he sees these signs, along with
substantial fines, as a way to keep the city of Lufkin
litter-free.
Read more about it in the Lufkin Daily News.
First Saturday in June is ‘Tire Day’ for
Local Residents
Tire
Day 2009 was a great success. City of Lufkin Solid Waste
and Recycling crews collected 3,995 tires to make this
the most successful Tire Day event ever. (That’s 666
tires per hour and 11 tires per minute!) We’ve collected
a grand total of 16, 295 tires during this and past
events. Thanks to the community for continuing to
support this worthwhile event, and thanks to a great
group of sponsors, including: Herman Power Tire Service;
Lufkin Daily News; and radio stations KICKS 105, Q107,
and KFOX 95.5.
View the slide show.
“City of
Lufkin Litter Abatement Crew Keeping Streets Clean”
 The
city of Lufkin’s Litter Abatement crew is doing its part to
keep local streets free of litter, trash and debris.
Many of our
citizens are not doing their part, however. A new city
ordinance means those caught littering can receive a fine of
up to $500.
The
five-man Litter Abatement team is the newest division of the
city’s Solid Waste Services department. One foreman and four
temporary laborers spend each weekday removing loose trash
from the city’s main thoroughfares and connector roads.
“The city
of Lufkin has never had a crew like this before,” according
to Lynn Winthrop, assistant director of solid waste and
recycling. “Solid Waste has always picked up residential and
commercial garbage, but we’ve never had a crew dedicated
solely to cleaning up Lufkin’s streets.”
More than
14 tons of litter has been picked up since the crew began
working in mid-October. That’s an average of more than 580
pounds of trash each day.
 “Most of
what we pick up consists of fast food wrappers, plastic
grocery bags and similar items,” according to Eddie Pepper,
the crew’s foreman. “But we’ve also found everything from
handheld video games and drug paraphernalia to used tires
and broken furniture. You name it and we’ve probably found
it on the side of the road.”
The Litter
Abatement crew routinely works along major streets, but also
cleans connector roads that run through neighborhoods and
other areas where litter is likely to be found. They also
assist the Solid Waste department with special clean-ups and
Inspection Services with illegal dumping cases.
“The crew
does a great job,” Winthrop said “You can definitely tell
when they’ve been working in a particular area. Our only
problem is that the same streets need cleaning again only a
few days later.”
“And while
that means job security for the litter abatement team, that
doesn’t speak well of our citizens who continue to litter,”
he continued.
Winthrop
said the formation of the litter abatement team stems from
the city’s adoption of a Litter Abatement Ordinance last
year. The ordinance is targeted at reducing litter citywide,
he said, as well as debris that can accumulate in ditches
and storm drains, which can contribute to flooding problems.
The
ordinance makes it unlawful for anyone to deposit litter on
streets, sidewalks and public areas – like parks, for
example – as well as private property, storm drains, gutters
or ditches. It is also unlawful to deposit litter in creeks,
ponds or any other body of water within the city. Violators
can be fined up to $500 per offense. |
The
Solid Waste Services Department is responsible for the
collection of residential and commercial garbage, rubbish
and recyclable material within the City of Lufkin. 