Charlotte's litter-filled roads are a pricy problem
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Uptown Charlotte seen from I-85. Photo: Katie Peralta/Axios
Charlotte streets and highways are filled with lots of trash. It's an eyesore, and it's also dangerous for drivers.
Why it matters: Like many of Charlotte's challenges, the increase in litter corresponds with the growth of the city.
Context: In recent years, the problem's been exacerbated by budget cuts at the North Carolina Department of Transportation, which manages about 3,000 lane miles in Mecklenburg County, NCDOT engineer Felix Obregon tells Axios.
- That means cleanup can't always happen as often as it used to.
By the numbers: NCDOT spent over $800,000 to collect more than 1.2 million pounds of litter throughout Mecklenburg County in fiscal year 2024, the Observer noted in a recent report and Obregon confirmed to Axios.
- That's up from about $770,000 for around one million pounds collected in 2023, per the Observer.
- "It's taking resources away from our typical routine maintenance," like filling potholes, Obregon said of the NCDOT's litter cleanup.
Zoom out: NCDOT removed 11.7 million pounds of litter from state roadways in 2023, Obregon tells Axios. That's an improvement from two years before that, when the department picked up a record 13 million pounds of trash.
- "During the pandemic, our revenue streams were reduced because people were not on the roads as much," Obregon says, referring to sources like gas taxes, highway use taxes, DMV fees and sales taxes. "We had to scale back litter [removal] as part of the reduction in services."
Zoom in: I reported on the region's littered roads back in 2022, when the problem was worse than it'd been in years.
- Those in the industry told me a large percentage is unintentional littering — not somebody throwing a burger wrapper out their window but debris flying off an unsecured truckload, for instance.
What they're saying: "We are doing everything we can to keep the roads clean, but it's a joint effort between us and the public. Our area is growing rapidly and there's so much construction and there's so much truck traffic that comes through our region," NCDOT spokesperson Jennifer Goodwin tells Axios.
What you can do: Of course, don't litter. If you're transporting a large amount of waste on your vehicle, make sure it's secured. You can also participate in cleanups, such as:
- The state's Fall Litter Sweep from Sept. 14-18. More info here.
- A statewide effort like Adopt A Highway or Sponsor A Highway
- Reporting litter via Swat-A-Litterbug.
- Volunteering with groups like Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful.