Board seeks regional litter subcommittee to tackle education and hauler enforcement

The regional board moved to create a small litter-focused subcommittee to coordinate education campaigns, share existing programs and propose contract or enforcement changes to reduce roadside dumping and load spillage from commercial haulers.

Moderator (speaker 2) opened the litter discussion and invited Lynn Boyles, introduced earlier as Keep Jasper Beautiful director, to speak. Boyles described her program’s volunteer work and the limits of relying on volunteers: “We picked up over 69 tons last year just with volunteers,” she said, and noted that SCDOT provided an $89,000 grant for a litter crew last year that was not renewed this year.

Board members and staff discussed two separate problems: (1) public litter and the need for education, and (2) commercial haulers whose loads are not secured. Van (speaker 11) said enforcement is constrained because tickets typically go to drivers, not companies, and suggested adding contract language to require secure loads or other remedies. The board asked each jurisdiction to nominate a staff representative for the subcommittee and requested a draft 'boilerplate' contract clause to consider for future hauler contracts.

The board did not adopt an enforcement ordinance at the meeting; instead it instructed staff to solicit appointees and to circulate possible contract language for hauler obligations. The subcommittee will report back with recommendations on education, enforcement and coordination across jurisdictions.