Nearly 100k Pounds Of Litter Picked Up In Prince George's

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Prince Georgians picked up 99,400 pounds of litter and illegally dumped materials on Saturday. The effort was part of the county's biannual Growing Green with Pride Day. The initiative included:

• 1,372 volunteers
• 80 groups
• 9 schools
• 3 municipalities

"We want to thank the more than 1,000 Prince Georgians who showed up and showed out today for our Growing Green with Pride Day community cleanup," Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks tweeted Saturday. "Together, we can make sure our County remains clean and beautiful."

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Litter pickup took the backseat in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Alsobrooks recently renewed her beautification push, however.

The Department of Public Works and Transportation has collected 1,004 tons of litter and illegally dumped materials since July 1, 2020. The agency picked up 136 of those tons during two blitzes with the Maryland State Highway Administration.

Alsobrooks also started the Litter Reduction and Illegal Dumping Taskforce on April 15. The group has its first meeting Thursday and hopes to eventually:

• Research ways to reduce litter
• Create a guide with local dumping laws
• Launch a dashboard to show areas in need around Prince George's

The county executive additionally appointed Tiaa Rutherford from the Department of the Environment as the county’s "litter czar." Rutherford will lead all these plans.

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