Pollutants

Properly Dispose Trash And Litter

Keep a small litter bag in your car, and put items in the garbage can when you get home or visit a gas station. If it’s left lying around, it can blow away or fall to the ground and end up in stormwater. Common trash and litter pollutants include:

• Food wrappers or packaging
• Plastic containers
• Cigarette butts
• Single-use items
• Face masks or gloves

Secure Your Load

Make sure items on a roof carrier or in your truck bed are secured with tarps and tie-downs or a cargo net. Tools, furniture and items being hauled shouldn’t be able to fly onto the freeway. Be sure to double check that everything is secure before you hit the road. These are common items that fall from truck beds:

• Luggage
• Lawn chairs, toys and other recreational items
• Furniture
• Appliances
• Landscape waste

Clean Up After A Breakdown

When you have a breakdown on the highway and need roadside assistance, make sure no old tires, trash or containers of used motor oil are left behind. Come the next storms, those items create runoff pollutants that get flushed straight into stormways and, in turn, our waterways.

• Food wrappers or packaging
• Empty beverage containers
• Plastic containers
• Landscape waste

Properly Dispose Large Trash

Large appliances or furniture should be taken to an authorized disposal site. The same goes for large amount of vegetation waste. Check with your town or city to learn if they have curbside pick-up days for large items. Following are examples of items that are often illegally dumped:

• Appliances
• Cars & parts
• Construction tools
• Electronics
• Furniture
• Vegetation piles