Enforcement

TL;DR: The study examines the efficacy of state litter and illegal dumping statutes and enforcement practices and procedures in Pennsylvania and South Carolina. It finds that higher fines are not effective deterrents and that more than law enforcement alone is needed to address the problem. The study also highlights the need for continuing public education and engagement about the multiple impacts of littering and illegal dumping.

Abstract: Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and PalmettoPride actively promote the enforcement of state litter laws to protect their respective state ’ s environments. Litter and littering behavior, however, continue to be an issue. The organizations initiated a comprehensive joint study on the efficacy of state litter and illegal dumping statutes and enforcement practices and procedures. This multi-state study can serve as a benchmark to measure litter control enforcement efforts across the country. The mixed-methods study examined five years of data, from 2016 – 2020, for both states and conducted interviews with law enforcement and judicial officers to gain on-the-ground insights. A primary focus of the research includes examining Pennsylvania and South Carolina littering and illegal dumping statutes regarding penalties and reviewing the attitudes, behaviors, and influences that emerge from case disposition data and interviews. The research shows that law enforcement officers believe that enforcement is integral to preventing littering and illegal dumping. Still, it also reveals that more than law enforcement alone is needed to solve the problem. It must be a piece of the process. A key finding from both interviews and the analysis of ticketing data is that higher fines, especially for litter violations, are not considered a deterrent. Officers in both states expressed a desire to seek compliance for illegal dumping, e.g., cleanup, over court action or fines. The officers and magistrates interviewed stated they were hesitant to give high fines in light of other crimes that those magistrates and officers were dealing with regularly. South Carolina’s decision in 2018 to streamline the penalty process with a more defined fine and community service process appears to be a practical approach to dealing with littering and illegal dumping violators. The community service process has also been streamlined in some South Carolina counties to allow an unsupervised cleanup. This approach could reduce some obstacles that the Pennsylvania interviewees expressed. Challenges in both states include the small number of counties reporting ticketing for littering or illegal dumping, staffing issues, shifting priorities at state and local levels around the topic, and the need for continuing public education and engagement about the multiple impacts of littering and illegal dumping.