Garbage on highway ramps - gross!

I have a friend visiting from Paris and I'm ashamed to drive on and off the highways around here with her in the car. The ramps are disgusting!! And it seems like it's getting worse. There are now large pieces of metal on the ramp off 78 near the Home Depot. Can I do anything other than either clean it up myself or resign myself to living with it? Who's in charge of these no-man-lands?

Clearly the Committee of Public Safety is not doing its job.

I worked a summer picking trash on the highway (among other things). Most of the labor was "provided" by the local prison. This was in Massachusetts.

They were out on 78 the poast few days. Saw a mile of trash bags last evening along 78W just before the Maplewood exit.

Its the result of the winter. But as noted the prison work crews and others are out cleaning. Oh an Paris aint what it used to be in terms of being clean

I think the punishment for littering should be 40 hours picking trash with a prison crew.

I love Paris, but at least the ramps don't smell like a urinal.

earlster said:

I love Paris, but at least the ramps don't smell like a urinal.

Paris is beautiful. But the streets have plenty of spots that smell like urine. And everyone smokes and throws cigarette butts on the ground.

The biggest difference is that many other countries pay to have streets cleaned.

The absolute worst offender is the Burnett Terrace/Route 78 East on-ramp. It almost looks as if people drive by and throw out their kitchen trash from their car window.

Agree - terrible

In Paris no one seems to know how to use a pooper scooper.

Paris' many faults (and charms - *sigh*) are thousands of miles away, but we have to pass through these local trash dumps every day. Does anyone know of any levers to push to get action? I would happily become a (polite) PITA if there were some way to be effective.

The street trash all over NJ is deplorable. Clearly picking up after one's self/ caring for the environs are not universal goals/values.

skadave said:

The absolute worst offender is the Burnett Terrace/Route 78 East on-ramp. It almost looks as if people drive by and throw out their kitchen trash from their car window.

Uh uh. The one that always shocks me is the on ramp to 280 East from Kingsley Street (the little northbound extension of Valley Road in West Orange after the intersection where Valley bears off to the right)...

I'm so glad this thread was started. I would love to know who to call. I did notice that one ramp onto 78 East from New Providence had been cleaned up as the same huge jug of apple juice (and I cringe thinking it's something else) was no longer in the same place with loads of other garbage one day. It looked 1,000 times better! It's really sad to see.