Lt. Gov. to host first Litter Abatement and Beautification Task Force meeting

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - Louisiana’s new Litter Abatement and Beautification Task Force is set to talk trash.

The 26 member committee, made up of elected officials, law enforcement personnel, as well as business and education leaders, will meet for the first time on Feb. 15.

“When you invite family and friends over to your house, you clean up your house,” explained Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, the task force’s Chairman. “It’s time for us to clean up Louisiana.”

Nungesser believes reducing Louisiana’s trash problem starts in schools. He wants to add litter education to the DARE Program.

“A child loves to tell their parents what to do,” Nungesser told KNOE. “So having a kid tell mom, I was taught in school you aren’t supposed to do that would have a huge impact.”

In addition, the lieutenant governor says law enforcement plays a critical role in deterring litterers.

“We have got to make sure the money is going to where it’s worth the sheriff’s while to give them a ticket,” Nungesser said.

Nungesser added he wants money collected from fines to benefit local municipalities.

On cleaning up the trash already in the community, Nungesser wants to explore ways to do it more efficiently.

“In Florida, they got a cart with a little garbage can mounted on the front,” Nungesser explained. “They zip down the highway and do it a lot quicker than doing it with people walking out in the median.”

Finally, Nungesser hopes to get charities and churches more involved.

“I hope that we can establish a database where every part of this state could be adopted or maintained by an individual, group, or business,” Nungesser added.

In addition, Nungesser would like to see people who were arrested for driving under the influence clean up litter as part of their sentence.

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