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Don't Litter, Lafayette!

Patty Denais

Keep Our Waters Clean!

Stephen Broussard

WHAT IS LITTER?

Litter can include paper, fast food wrappers, beverage cans, Styrofoam, cardboard, plastic bottles, cigarette butts, tire parts, plastic bags, clothing, and even biodegradable items. When not disposed of properly, your trash adds to Louisiana’s litter problem.

Litter is Costly

In Louisiana, an estimated $91.4 million in taxpayer dollars are spent each year on litter removal, abatement, education, and enforcement.

Litter is Harmful

Litter is harmful to Louisiana’s wildlife, but it also poses a danger to our residents. Litter creates potential road hazards. It clogs drainage systems, which contribute to flooding. It can also create a breeding ground for mosquitos.

Litter is Illegal

The penalties for littering in Louisiana range from $150 to $10,000 and include the possibility of community service, a one-year driver’s license suspension, and even 30 days of jail time.

Parish Proud volunteers in Downtown Lafayette

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Report Litter and Illegal Dumping

To help reduce litter in Lafayette Parish, residents can now report litterbugs through the Lafayette 311 website or by calling 311 (select option 3). Operation Neaux Throw is aimed at drivers who toss trash, cigarette butts, or any type of litter out a car window.   You can also report illegal signage.

Before reporting on residents should gather as much information as possible when witnessing someone intentionally littering — date, time, the vehicle’s color, make, model, and license plate. Unintentional littering, such as trash flying out of a truck bed, is still considered littering.

Online reporting also allows for reporting litter spotted in the community which will be scheduled for pickup through the Lafayette Sheriff’s Department Inmate Detail.

Everyday Tips

  1. Bag your trash, tie the bag tight, and cover your bin to prevent your trash from entering the environment and harming wildlife.
  2. Keep a bag in your vehicle for garbage and dispose of your trash properly when you get home.
  3. Get a travel ashtray to keep cigarette butts off our roadways.
  4. Check the bed of your truck to ensure it’s free of trash and debris that could fly out and become litter.
  5. When transporting large items, secure your load with tarps, nets, or tie-downs.
  6. Whether you are hiking or boating, keep a bag with you for trash. Take out what you brought in, and always leave it better than you found it.
  7. When you see litter in your neighborhood, pick it up with gloves or grabbers. You can also organize a litter cleanup or volunteer for one in your community.
  8. Use a reusable grocery bag to reduce the number of plastic bags that become litter.
  9. Follow us on social media and attend parish proud events!

CLEAN BIZ PARTNERSHIP

Through a Healthy Communities Grant from Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB), Parish Proud has created Troop Buckets, which will be distributed by One Acadiana through the KLB Clean Biz Program!

The Troop Buckets will include essential items such as Litter Grabbers, Reflective Vests, Trash Bags, and Gloves. Thanks to the generous support of KLB, each bucket will also include a new flag, serving both as a safety measure and a symbol of community pride.

Join the growing number of businesses that are keeping Lafayette clean by becoming a Clean Biz parnter.

  • SLEMCO
  • Cajun Cultivation
  • Geaux Run by Fleet Feet
  • Children's Museum of Acadiana
  • Holly and Smith Architects
  • PrejCo Inc
  • Ochsner Lafayette General
  • Courtyard Lafayette Airport
  • Platt Services, LLC
  • Synergy ITG
  • Oceans Healthcare
  • Acadiana Hydro Kleen

If you are interested in taking the Clean Biz pledge and acquiring a Troop’s Bucket, contact us today! 

Parish Proud Efforts to date

  • Litter and Dumping Research and Awareness Partnership with UL Office of Sustainability
  • Mardi Gras Waterways Litter  Mitigation Study
  • City of Broussard Enforcement Pilot Program
  • City of Broussard Pilot Program
  • Active bids for development of LCG Waste/Recycling convenience center(1st in parish)
  • Gateway plan phase 1 construction conversations underway
  • Parish Proud continues installing “Do Not Litter” road signs in Lafayette parish.
  • Litterbug line expanded to include illegal signage reporting
  • LCG budgets for the development of 1st parish convenience center
  • Established the 1-10 Gateway Corridor Initiative
  • 1-10 Gateway Corridor Initiative approved and budgeted
  • Parish Proud continues installing “Do Not Litter” road signs in Lafayette parish.
  • Participation in Governor’s Task Force creation
  • Stiffened Lafayette City/Parish Litter Ordinance
  • Mardi Gras Litter Mitigation Program established (in partnership with LCG and Keep Lafayette Beautiful)
  • Litterbug hotline established with LCG (311-3)
  • Neaux Throw Litter program established (source point mitigation in partnership with LCG and Laf. Sheriff’s Dept.)
  • Waste and recycling convenience center proposal to LCG
  • Parish Proud continues installing “Do Not Litter” road signs in Lafayette parish.
  • Project Geaux Meaux established with LCG - a public/private program with local lawn care professionals to assist with lawn care in Lafayette Parish.
  • Parish Proud continues installing “Do Not Litter” road signs in Lafayette parish.
  • Parish Proud established
  • Parish Proud begins installing “Do Not Litter” road signs in Lafayette parish.

Studies and Research

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