Fresno seeing success from latest effort to reduce litter on freeways

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The city of Fresno is cracking down on litterbugs. Over the last two weeks, a team of Fresno Police motorcycle officers has issued 89 tickets for littering along freeways.

"It's never fun to write a ticket, or get a ticket, but it's essential if we're going to stop a bad behavior that we have all allowed to take over our community," said Steve Brandau, Fresno City Councilmember.

As part of the crackdown, officers have been busy tracking pick up trucks and unsecured loads for the potential of flying debris and trash.

"A piece of litter doesn't look like much, but when you multiply this times 10,000 or 100,000 it really becomes a huge problem," said Andrew Hall, Fresno Police Captain.

Clearing freeways of oversized weeds and brush not only helps to beautify the city, but also city leaders say clean freeways could have a positive impact on the economic growth of Fresno.

"It is necessary to take a little extra time and resources to get back control of this litter problem. So that economic impact from that dismal amount of litter that we've had lately can begin to abate and people could start thinking more highly of our community," said Brandau.

Getting a ticket for littering can get pretty pricey.

"These tickets can range up to $400 per citation. So it gets quite expensive for a violation," said Hall.

The crackdown on roadside trash is expected to continue through at least the start of next month's Big Fresno Fair.