PalmettoPride announced the 2018 Litter Control Enforcement Grant ticket numbers. From the 24 enforcement agencies that received a 2017-2018 Enforcement Grant, reports indicate that a total of $341,306.73 in fines were collected from 898 successfully prosecuted cases.
Many of the reporting agencies utilize both state statues and local ordinances when addressing littering and illegal dumping.
As reported, 279 state tickets were issued for littering violations, 65 state tickets issued for a secondary violation and 123 warnings handed out.
Reports also show that of the 344 State tickets issued, 277 were successfully adjudicated.
STATE LEVEL
• Litter violation tickets – 279
• Litter violation tickets successfully prosecuted – 223
• Litter violation tickets pending – 53
• Secondary violation tickets – 65
• Secondary violation tickets successfully prosecuted – 54
• Secondary violation tickets pending – 10
• Warnings issued – 123
State level fines collected – $119,549.98
Agencies also reported 579 local summons for littering violations and 509 secondary violation summons were issued; of the 1,088 summons issued, 914 were successfully adjudicated.
COUNTY LEVEL
• Litter violation tickets – 579
• Litter violation tickets successfully prosecuted – 506
• Litter violation tickets pending – 60
• Secondary violation tickets – 509
• Secondary violation tickets successfully prosecuted – 408
• Secondary violation tickets pending – 89
• Warnings issued – 649
County level fines collected $202,281.75
Reporting Agencies also indicated that there were 2,811 total complaints, 1,075 violations were caught on camera, and 53 violations were sent to DHEC.
“Enforcing our state and local litter laws is crucial to behavior change. We are encouraged to see so many tickets being written and upheld at the court level,” said Sarah Lyles, Executive Director of PalmettoPride.
This report does not represent all 47 South Carolina counties litter control numbers but only the 24 reporting agencies comprised of city and county agencies. All law enforcement officers can write tickets for litter and illegal dumping, not just the code and litter control enforcement officers.
Jamie Nelson, Director of Spartanburg County’s Environmental Enforcement Department stated, “That it’s time for all Law Enforcement Officers and their respected agencies to light up a litterbug.” Director Nelson also mentioned how encouraged he was; that during the past year great strides were made in this battle of trying to keep our great state beautiful and litter free.
“We encourage law enforcement to not overlook litter and illegal dumping violations as they are important to the overall health of our communities and often an indicator of more serious criminal activity,” said Lyles.
PalmettoPride works closely with the South Carolina Litter Control Association on furthering the mission of litter control. Litter and illegal dumping are significant issues across the state and violators will not stop unless they are successfully prosecuted.
