CHARLESTON, SC (AP) – South Carolina’s roads are getting dirtier because of COVID-19.
The pandemic is preventing crews of prisoners and volunteers from gathering to clean up the highways, the anti-garbage group Palmetto Pride told the Post and the Charleston Courier.
The problem is compounded by the fact that more people are going in search of food and then throwing disposable containers out of their vehicles, said South Carolina Department of Transportation secretary Christy Hall.
“We are seeing a garbage epidemic on all highways and we cannot keep up with it,” said Hall.
Garbage is not just ugly. It can clog drains and cost the state money, Hall said.
The department hired contractors to collect garbage by the road for the first time, paying $ 668,000 for the collection of 544,000 pounds (247,000 kg) of garbage, Hall said.
Palmetto Pride had 55,000 volunteers to collect garbage in 2020, 15,000 less than the average for a year, said Sarah Lyles, the group’s executive director.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, prison and state prison staff have been unable to collect the trash, officials said.
In 2019, about 220 prisoners cleared more than 15,000 miles (24,000 kilometers) of state roads, most of them interstate, said South Carolina Department of Corrections spokeswoman Chrysti Shain.
“I think a lot of people are now understanding how much of the highways we keep,” said Shain.