Sussex County employees to take to the streets in roadside litter clean-up event

Georgetown, Del., Sept. 10, 2019: Sussex County is walking the walk, not just talking the talk, when it comes to cleaning up roadside litter.

The County government will give nearly 50 employees the chance to fan out across Sussex County on Friday, Sept. 20, to clean up litter on stretches of road identified as trouble spots for illegal dumping. The afternoon clean-up event, which will follow an employee appreciation barbeque at lunchtime celebrating County employees’ service, will serve as the County’s contribution to Delaware Gov. John Carney’s recently announced ‘Keep DE Litter Free’ initiative.

“Sussex County is taking this opportunity to not just celebrate our employees for their hard work each day, but it’s a chance for us to give back and celebrate our commitment to the community,” County Administrator Todd F. Lawson said. “This is a first for the County, but based on the interest and response from our employees so far, I hope we can make this an annual tradition.”

Roadside litter and illegal dumping have long been a problem in Delaware, including Sussex County, but have gained increasing attention in recent years from the public and government officials alike in trying to find solutions, and hold accountable those committing the crimes.

In 2018, the County announced a partnership with the Delaware Department of Correction and Delaware Department of Transportation to allocate supplemental County funding each year to boost the State’s existing clean-up efforts on the more-than-2,300 miles of roadway in southern Delaware. As of August 2019, the County has dedicated more than $210,000, with the partnership netting nearly 3,300 bags of trash from some 340 miles of roads in the county.

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