Smoking In Cars: NY Rockland

Litterbugs may soon receive a surprise in the mail

(Original publication: December 5, 2007)

We’ve all seen the driver who decides to flick a cigarette butt or toss a sandwich wrapper out of the car window, using Rockland’s roads as a personal trash can.

And how about recycling and garbage trucks that leave piles of rubbish on the road behind them?

Many of us have been left incensed, knowing that there’s nothing that we can really do about it.

Well, stop pounding the dashboard and get out your notebooks, says Andy Stewart, executive director of Keep Rockland Beautiful.

Write down the vehicle’s license plate number, make and model and the time, place and offense against the environment, and let Keep Rockland Beautiful and the Rockland Sheriff’s Department take care of the rest. They’ll send the litterbugs a letter informing them that they’ve been spotted.

The letters are simply warnings; they carry no penalties, but Stewart and Sheriff’s Department Lt. Louis Falco said they send a message that citizens will not tolerate the trashing of their community.

“We’re providing relief for the frustration that a lot of people feel when they see littering on the roadway,” Stewart said of the program that started two months ago.

He added that law enforcement does not have the resources to dedicate to littering, noting that just 126 litter tickets were issued in Rockland from 2002 to 2005, or an average of about 32 a year.

Taken individually, the beer bottle or plastic bag isn’t particularly threatening, Stewart said. But put enough of them together and they can easily wash into streams, affecting water quality, or clog storm drains, leading to flooding. A spark from a discarded cigarette could start a fire.

“Because it’s small doesn’t mean it’s insignificant,” Stewart said of litter. “It’s disrespectful. It’s damaging to our community because it’s a visual turnoff.”

Anyone who witnesses an act of littering, which is a violation, is invited to report it at Keep Rockland Beautiful’s hotline at 845-708-9164. The nonprofit screens the complaints, which are kept confidential, to make sure they have a full description of the vehicle. They then pass the information on to the Sheriff’s Department, which makes sure the license plate matches the vehicle.

The warning letter, which bears Sheriff James Kralik’s name and comes with a handy car litterbag, is sent to the vehicle owner. So far, 18 letters have been mailed.

“It’s a reprimand and it’s an invitation,” Stewart said. “For most people who are well-intentioned, it’s a reminder that somebody is watching them. And we think it’s going to change their behavior.”

Falco said a few people who were sent tickets have called to apologize. He also got a call from a person who received a ticket but said he wasn’t driving the car when the littering supposedly occurred. It turned out that his teenage son was driving it at the time.

“We’re sending the letter to the registered owner, which is usually the parent,” Falco said. “And the parent is saying to the kid, ‘What are you doing?’ I think there’s some reaction at home.”

Then there will be some people who don’t care, letter or no letter.

Stewart has a theory that it’s easier to litter when you’re behind the wheel because the natural world seems to be the backdrop to a video game – and actions those inside the car take don’t seem to have discernable consequences.

“When you’re driving a car, it changes your moral relationship to the landscape,” Stewart said.

Thirteen states have statewide programs to make it easier for their citizens to report littering. Putnam County recently started one that is similar to Rockland’s.

Gerald Schnepf, executive director of Keep Iowa Beautiful, said its statewide hotline (888-NOLITTR) has received more than 1,500 calls in its first year, with 9 out of 10 concerning cigarette butts and packaging of tobacco products.

The information is passed on to the Iowa State Patrol, which then sends out a letter to the litterbug.

“I would look at it as a subtle way to start a behavior change, breaking a habit,” Schnepf said. “In order to break a habit, you have to remind them repeatedly.”

In 2002, Keep Iowa Beautiful conducted an attitude survey of nearly 2,000 Iowans about litter, which yielded some interesting findings. More than 70 percent admitted they littered and felt tossing a single item, like a cigarette butt, from the car was acceptable.

“In their minds, they felt litter was large volumes of stuff,” Schnepf said, such as filled car ashtrays or bags of fast food.

As far as the idea of Rockland residents watching and reporting on their fellow citizens, opinions were mixed among local drivers.

South Nyack’s Joan Moffett said she supported any measure that improved the appearance of a place, and vowed to keep any eye out for litterbug drivers.

“I drive on (Route) 59 and I see the garbage and stuff, and it’s just disgusting,” Moffett said.

Chris Bankey, of Pomona, said the whole idea of spying on his neighbors gave him a Big Brother vibe, adding that it sounded like something you would associate with the former Soviet Union.

“Everybody was spying on each other and it really was horrible,” Bankey said. “I don’t think it would be that bad when we’re talking about littering, but still.”

For his part, Stewart did not believe the tactic rose to the level of invasion of one’s privacy, like government monitoring of library records, e-mail or phone calls.

“It’s not about what they’re doing in their backyard or even what they’re doing in their car,” Stewart said. “Littering is a public act.”
Quote:
Here’s a sample litterbug letter from the Rockland Sheriff’s Department.

Dear Vehicle Owner:
A Keep Rockland Beautiful volunteer has reported to my office that an occupant in your vehicle was seen littering in Rockland County, or that litter fell or blew from your vehicle.

Date:_______ Time:_______
Plate #: _______
Location: _______

Littering is illegal in Rockland County and is a serious threat to quality of life and environment, especially when trash washes down storm drains into our drinking water supplies. Had this been observed by a law enforcement officer the driver of your vehicle could have been cited to court, fined, required to pick up your litter and perform community service work picking up other people’s litter.
I have enclosed a car litterbag and brochure on how we can work together to protect Rockland’s beautiful landscape and improve our quality of life through litter prevention.
Thank you for your cooperation in keeping Rockland clean and beautiful!

Sincerely,
James Kralik
Sheriff of Rockland County

Cc: Andy Stewart, Executive Director, Keep Rockland Beautiful, Inc.

IMPORTANT: If you believe you have received this letter in error, please disregard it. This information was provided to us anonymously and is treated with confidentiality – it is sent to you alone and is not shared with anyone. Littering is a public act. We encourage citizens to report littering when they see it.

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Rockland Legislature approves smoking ban in cars

By SARAH NETTER, THE JOURNAL NEWS
May 15, 2007

The Rockland County Legislature voted unanimously tonight to ban smoking in cars with children under age 18 present.

The Legislature is the first in New York to approve such a law, health board President Jeffrey Oppenheim said. Similar legislation already exists in Keyport, N.J., Bangor, Maine and Arkansas.

To become effective the law has to be signed by County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef within 30 days. He has not said whether he will sign it.