(Washington State) In an effort to keep Washington clean, Rep. Mark Klicker of the 16th District has introduced legislation to create a state task force to reduce littering.
According to a 2022 report from the Washington State Department of Ecology, Washingtonians are responsible for 37.8 million pounds of litter annually, which is 4.8 pounds per person every year.
“We should do everything we can to keep Washington beautiful and hold people who litter accountable,” said Klicker, R-Walla Walla. “As I drive around our great state, there are some amazing sights to take in, but unfortunately, many of those sites are being overrun with trash. It’s a growing problem that we can’t continue to overlook. We must make this a more serious offense and then enforce it.”
House Bill 1293 would raise the penalty for littering in an amount less than or equal to one cubic foot, to a class 2 civil infraction. The House Environment and Energy Committee overwhelmingly approved the legislation on Tuesday.
If the bill becomes law, the base penalty for a littering infraction would be $125, in addition to the base penalty of $93 for throwing or dropping material onto state highways.
The bill would direct the Department of Ecology to create a task force to provide policy recommendations with the goal of ensuring a net decrease in litter. The task force would have to include one member from the following entities:
- The Department of Ecology.
- The Department of Transportation.
- The State Patrol.
- The Washington State Association of Counties.
- The Department of Natural Resources.
- The Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The task force would also need to include several associations representing solid waste collection and management companies, retail groceries, hospitality businesses, convenience stores, tourism, beverage producers, tobacco product manufacturers, and the Washington State Association of Counties.
“Creating this task force will help us better understand how to prevent litter and hold those who litter accountable,” said Klicker. “The more people and organizations we can involve, the more successful we can be in tackling this issue.”
At minimum, the task force would be directed to consider four factors when developing policy recommendations:
- The results of Ecology’s 2022 statewide litter study.
- How to reduce litter at specific public sites.
- How to reduce the most common types of litter.
- How to reduce the cost-per-mile of litter cleanup along state roadways and the root causes of why the average amount of litter per mile far exceeds the average amount of litter per mile along roadways in other states.
“Washington is a beautiful place to live, but we need to take better care of it,” said Klicker. “I hope this legislation will prevent people from polluting our great state with so much unsightly trash and debris. Let’s keep Washington clean.”
The bill now waits for a vote by the entire House.