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Deputies from the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office collected trash in various locations across North and South Caddo. In celebration of America's 250th birthday, their goal was to collect more than 250 pounds of litter. This effort is part of Love the Boot Week, an initiative organized by "Keep Louisiana Beautiful," a state program under the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism.

To combat litter, the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office litter crew patrols the parish and cleans up roadside trash each year, removing over 10,000 pounds of litter.

Litter is not a new problem for Louisiana. For decades, litter has become increasingly detrimental to our communities, leading to a multitude of repercussions such as:

• Blight on natural areas, cities, towns, roadways, and waterways
• Death of wildlife due to polluted habitats
• Decline in quality of life in neighborhoods
• A negative impact on economic development, infrastructure, and tourism
• Flooding caused by storm drains clogged with litter and debris.

Despite spending over $91.4 million in litter abatement each year, Louisiana is still experiencing shocking levels of litter statewide. "Picking up litter is important, but litter education is the primary goal of Love the Boot Week," says Susan Russell, Executive Director of Keep Louisiana Beautiful. "If we can all learn the repercussions of litter and adopt behaviors to prevent it from happening in the first place, we will see a cleaner, greener Louisiana." A key finding from the 2023 State's Largest Litter Study reveals that there are approximately 143.8 million pieces of litter on Louisiana roadways. Interstates are the most littered type of roadway, with an average of 10,178 pieces of litter per mile.

For questions regarding this press release, please contact Brandon Fountain