St. Landry Parish, La (KADN) - "Nobody wants to move in a place where things are nasty and dirty. We want better for us, and we want better for our citizens."
Littering has been a constant problem for the parish and St. Landry Parish officials are looking at options to reduce the trash in the area.
"When you have a parish that is so broad and so wild, there's a lot of places to hide." Executive Director at the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District Richard Lebouef, says it's always been an issue, but it's become more prevalent lately.
With the help of the St. Landry Parish Sheriffs' Office, Lebouef believes the new litter abatement system will greatly help. "We utilize their deputies, and solid waste actually takes care of the payment of, and we furnish the vehicles and the Sheriff is gracious enough to give us the trustees, who do a phenomenal job. We can't do what we do without them."
Lebouef says workers travel about 250 miles daily scanning for trash that has been disposed of on the side of roads, things like appliances and tires are major finds.
Since installing cameras to fight the issue, Lebouef is reminding residents to stop dumping their trash on the road and come to the disposal site at no cost. "The cameras are to take and locate who those offenders are. If you live within the parish, it costs you nothing to dump here, only what you paid in sales tax. Why take it and live it there and we have to use the additional revenue."
Larry Thomas uses the disposal site frequently and believes people littering contributes to the parishes flooding issues. "And you are wondering why some areas are flooded... because of the trash. People do late-night dumping. It doesn't become their problem but the communities problem. Where an area is totally flooded because of that."
Lebouef reminds those who litter that if you are caught..... it is a crime, and with the help of other task forces, they will catch you sooner or later. "We are working closely with the Sheriff's department, law enforcement officials close by, wildlife and Fisheries. Liable for money, losing your license, actual time served in jail."
Now Lebouef says they won't be saying exactly where the cameras are but that if everyone does their part in the parish, it could be a cleaner place to live. He adds that discarded tires are often thrown alongside the road. Monthly they collect about nine hundred tires.
