Abundance of roadside litter a NM pandemic byproduct
May 10—SANTA FE — From discarded face masks to tossed-out hand wipes, the COVID-19 pandemic has left a visible mark on New Mexico's roads.
State transportation officials said Monday they have struggled over the last year with an abundance of litter, even offering to pay overtime to Department of Transportation employees who agree to clean up roadway trash on their weekends.
"It has been really hard to keep up," state Transportation Secretary Michael Sandoval said during a news conference. "We can clean up an area, and a day or two later it looks like no one has even touched it."
In an attempt to combat the problem, state transportation officials announced Monday they are bringing back a public awareness campaign — dubbed "Toss No Más" — first launched in the 1990s that, in its new iteration, will feature radio and billboard ads.
But a catchy slogan might only go so far in addressing the deluge of roadside debris.
One of the factors contributing to New Mexico's struggle with highway and interstate litter has been the state Corrections Department halting the practice of having inmates clean up roadside trash, Sandoval said.
A corrections spokesman said Monday the department suspended all outside inmate work crews last year as a preventative measure in an attempt to halt the spread of COVID-19.
"We do plan on resuming the cleanup crews in the near future and we are working with our health experts to determine when it is safest to do so," agency spokesman Eric Harrison told the Journal.
Another likely culprit in the litter problem is New Mexico's spring winds, which can blow trash out of pickup truck beds and open car windows without notice.
To prevent that from happening, state officials urged residents to secure their garbage loads with a tarp or another method on their way to the dump.
"Once the wind picks it up and carries it, we're lost," said DOT spokeswoman Marisa Maez.
The swirling roadside litter is not only an eyesore but can pose risks to motorists, transportation officials said. Monday.
While littering is a petty misdemeanor punishable by a $50 fine under New Mexico law, enforcing the statute is difficult and it's unclear how many citations were issued in 2020.
Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation spent about $3.5 million in the 2020 budget year on litter removal efforts, Sandoval said, and has more than 880 workers assigned to road maintenance issues, which includes litter pick-up.
He said it's unclear what the price tag might hit this year, as the agency is able to decide how to spend some discretionary funds within its budget.
