Litter In Paulding, Get Your Name In The Paper

DALLAS, GA — Are you a Paulding County litter bug? If so, there's a better chance than ever that local authorities are going to bust you for it — and they might make you famous in the process.

Frustrated that past efforts have failed to curb litter, the Paulding County Marshal Bureau is cracking down on littering of all kinds. That includes a new policy of publishing the names of litterers in a local newspaper and requiring the guilty party to work on a detail picking up trash alongside local roads.

"The state law allows us to have a violator pick up litter on the side of the road and it also allows us to publish their name ... ," said Maj. Leann LeHolm in a video published by the marshal bureau. "Since our litter problem doesn't seem to be getting any better, we are going to start doing that."

LeHolm said that, over the past several years, Paulding officials have tried education programs, warnings and occasional citations and arrests to battle litter.

"As most of you can see, it's done some help, but not as much as we would have liked for it to," LeHolm said.

The new enforcement policy was launched on June 1 and is just now starting to draw the attention of locals.

In the video, LeHolm breaks down specific types of littering that Paulding is going after.

They include illegal dumping of household trash, chemical dumping and the spamming of signs — be they for yard sales or one of those "We Buy Homes" signs — in a public right of way, on public property or on private property when the owner hasn't given permission.

Tossing cigarette butts out of a vehicle also is considered illegal dumping, LeHolm said.

The bureau also is going after Paulding residents who let tons of garbage pile up on their own property.

On those trash complaints, the first offense will bring a $100 fine, the second offense will be a $500 fine and the third offense will carry a $1,000 fine requiring the offender to appear before a judge in court.

Motorists also can be cited to properly secure debris in their vehicles that flies off and into the roadway.

"Please remember, this is a community effort," LeHolm said. "We are reactive to what is happening in the community and we will be stepping up our enforcement ... .

"This is something that we have to get a hold of here in Paulding County and we can do it as a community."

Photo courtesy Paulding County Marshal Bureau