Babylon targets litterbugs by asking if 'Mommy still cleans' for them
Babylon Town has launched a humorous anti-littering campaign, which includes signs like this one at the corner of Sylvan Road and Deer Park Avenue in North Babylon. Credit: Rick Kopstein
The Town of Babylon is taking a new approach to dealing with litterbugs: Shame them with sassiness.
The town has launched a campaign called Operation CLEAN, a multipronged initiative aimed at reducing littering by using humorous social media ads, sarcastic signs, weekend road cleanups and enforcement of fines for violators.
The video ads the town is paying social media sites to promote include one in which hired actors meet in a “Litterers Anonymous” meeting and confess to various garbage-related infractions, such as dumping paint cans in a vacant lot or throwing a dirty diaper out of a car window.
The town has collected 247 tons of road garbage so far this year, according to Babylon spokesman Ryan Bonner. The items strewed near roadways ranged from fast food bags to tires, said Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer.
“It had gotten so bad that people really just lost sight of how to keep things neat and clean so we figured we needed to start a conversation about what happens when people don’t take care of their surroundings,” Schaffer added.
As part of the campaign, the town has posted 14 signs around town that ask people why they are littering, suggesting answers such as “I am lazy” and “Mommy still cleans up after me.” Schaffer said the town borrowed the idea from signs in Florida.
Litterbugs risk summonses from code enforcement officials, with fines for first-time littering ranging from $250 to $1,000.
Schaffer said the next step in the initiative will be to increase enforcement by installing cameras at busy intersections to catch violators and record license plate numbers.
Babylon also is paying overtime to employees from its highway and buildings and grounds departments on Saturdays from April to October to clean litter from town, county and state roads.
Most of the expenses for the campaign are being funded with about $3 million in surplus money the town has accrued in its commercial garbage fund, Bonner said.
The town first applied the surplus to its commercial garbage rates but can continue to use the money toward garbage-related expenses, according to Schaffer.
Bonner said the town has spent about $367,000 on the campaign so far, including $330,000 from the fund and $37,000 from the town's operating budget.
Robyn Silvestri, executive director of Save the Great South Bay, said volunteers doing cleanups for the nonprofit organization removed more than 15,000 pounds of debris from local creeks, including in Babylon Town, during about 15 cleanups this year.
“I think anything that brings attention to littering is important and if that means a little humor to engage people so that they feel like they can make a difference, then the humor is well-served,” she said of the town’s campaign.
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.