Overflowing trash bins, jampacked dumpsters and piles of rusty old appliances can be found at rest stops across the state.
"It's unacceptable,” said traveler Kirk Patrick.
The Washington State Department of Transportation said roadside litter has been an ongoing battle. They’ve also seen a "disturbing rise in illegal dumping” at rest stops in the past month.
"Recently, we have found a few mattresses, a microwave that was just disposed of out on our property by the Elma rest area,” said Cara Mitchell, WSDOT Spokesperson.
The garbage is an eyesore, takes a toll on our environment and is a danger to WSDOT employees who have to dispose of piles of often-unknown materials that can pose a direct threat to their health.
"Hang on to it, take it home, don't let it go out of your car. Every little wrapper that you throw out the window ends up on the side of the road,” said traveler Doralee Mulhall.
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One of the reasons WSDOT said they see so much trash at the Elma rest stop is because people heading home from the beach dump large bags of trash off at the rest stop instead of taking it home.
"It's disgusting. It's disrespectful. They just think that it's free for the state to get rid of it, but it costs them too,” said Patrick.
The state spends more than $4 million a year on litter cleanup. Dumped trash adds to WSDOT's workload.
"When we have a lack of maintenance funding to be able to take care of potholes and signals and guardrail repair, and then we see an increase in the amount of garbage that we have to pick up… It turns into a big challenge,” said Mitchell.
The people who leave piles of trash might have to pay up too. Illegal dumping can result in criminal prosecution as a misdemeanor or as a gross misdemeanor for someone who litters in an amount of one cubic yard or more.
Every dump pile is documented and reported to law enforcement.
Littering can carry an $1,000 fine.
To make matters worse, WSDOT also suspended its Adopt a Highway volunteer program due to coronavirus concerns, which is another reason they said this is the worst possible time to see an uptick in illegal dumping.
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