Commission focuses on law to fix litter problem

Published 1:16 pm Wednesday, January 13, 2021

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The Chilton County Commission discussed a litter problem the county continues to have with community members discarding trash in the woods, rivers and along roadways throughout the county.

County Litter Agent Libby Ratliff informed the Commission that one of the biggest problems they are encountering at the moment are people dumping adult diapers into local waterways.

According to Ratliff, garbage bags filled with adult diapers have been drug from local streams by the litter department of late.

Retrieval of the bags has proven to be difficult at times.

“They (diapers) absorb water and sink to the bottom,” Ratliff said.

Commissioners and the majority of those in attendance for the meeting could only shake their heads in a mixture of disgust and disbelief as Ratliff explained the circumstances.

The commissioners agreed that the county has faced a litter problem for years, but it has reached the point where something has to change in order to more effectively deter these actions from continuing.

Discussion included the possible introduction of a local law designed to combat littering in the county.

The Commission plans to work out the details of the law within the next couple weeks, which will include the designated fines in place if someone is deemed to have broken the litter law.

According to Commission Chairman Joseph Parnell, if the Commission can get the details figured out in the next two weeks, it may be able to get it written up in time to send to the state legislature before it begins its 2021 legislative session on Feb. 2.