TIMES UNION is littering our city! How can I get them to stop?

[Holga]

I am asking from help from the wise readers of Metro Jacksonville for some much needed advice. I am a local advocate for litter prevention and do many cleanups, but I am totally stumped on what to do with this situation.

I had attempted, very unsuccessfully, to get the TIMES UNION to stop littering their plastic wrapped advertisement, The TU VALUES. They have been randomly throwing them all over the city right of ways (in the streets, gutters, and public land), they just randomly toss them everywhere and anywhere. They were mailing them a while ago (I guess they can't pay for postage anymore) then they started illegally littering them all over city right of ways at the end of 2011. In addition to these being a horrible pollution problem in our city, these are wrapped in PLASTIC bags! I keep intercepting them at storm drains, before they are able to get into the river and pollute and harm animals. I have picked up over 200 of these ads from my neighborhood in the past few months.

The City Council declared a “zero tolerance” policy for litter, yet I can't get them to ask the TU to get them to stop. I called the police and they said they can't do anything because they have to catch the person in the act of littering to charge them. I even asked if I recorded the violator for littering could they press charges and I was told absolutely not.

These plastic wrapped ads are being run over by cars in the street, being carried down the street into storm drains and are turning into ground up, shredded plastic. I hate to think about how many thousands of these are being littered each week and the horrific problem of littering that the TU is contributing to our beautiful city, waterways, and the possibility of harming precious wildlife.

I have been attempting to get the TU to stop breaking the law and quit littering these plastic wrapped ads all over our city. I have informed the paper many times they are in violation of Florida State and local litter laws, but they won't stop! When I call to complain, they tell me I can have my name placed on the "do not mail" list, but they won't stop delivering them around town.

I have contacted PUBLIX and the other advertisers as well, because they are an advertiser and let them know they were supporting a company that is illegally littering and it does not look good for their company, but nobody ever responds back.

The TU should be fined in accordance to law anywhere between $50.00- $100.00 for each once littered.

Any good advice would be welcomed and appreciated. Many kindly thanks.

[coredumped]

Hi Holga, welcome to the forum!

I subscribe to the Sunday edition and it often comes in "2 parts." I get 1 paper last night, like 1am, and the other half of the paper comes the next day. (the values section). I assumed it was only for subscribers?

A little off topic - have you ever asked an officer about people who throw cigarette butts out their car window? Seems like they could collect a ton of fees.

[dv8]

You meant wise-ass readers, right Holga?  another thought...aren't most sections of the TU trash?  In my neighborhood, those worthless lumps pile up in the driveways of the "empty" homes, like an advertisement. If I went up to my local Publix and dumped o say 12,000 plastic gags in their parking spot, would JSO notice?  care?

[Dog Walker]

The advertisers pay the TU to print and the TU carriers to deliver the TU-Value to every household, not just to subscribers.  If a house is vacant, it just sits there until it blows into the street.

I think the litter laws are now the responsibility of Code Enforcement, not JSO.  You might want to call them and ask if these circulars thrown in front of every house meet the legal definition of litter.  Those codes were amended a couple of years ago.  Among other changes the new code defines "snipe" signs and "bandit" signs in the public-right-of-way are defined as litter and "abandoned property" and anyone can pick them up.  The bases make great tomato cages.

If signs are on utility poles or traffic sign poles the fines are huge.

[Holga]

Thank for the advice Dog Walker. I contacted the Municipal Code Compliance Division and they said they addresses only illegal signage erected in public rights-of-way. They also told me JSO is responsible for litter enforcement.

A little off topic - have you ever asked an officer about people who throw cigarette butts out their car window? Seems like they could collect a ton of fees.

Thanks for the welcome coredumped. I do know that JSO really does not enforce litter laws for littering cigarette butts/ or any littering. The city could make a bunch of money and have a cleaner city if they actually enforced the litter laws. I get free pocket ashtrays (which are provided from a grant from Keep America Beautiful to our local affiliate Keep Jacksonville Beautiful) and I give smokers those before they can litter and it opens dialogue about how horribly toxic cigarettes butts are to our environment and kills animals. Jacksonville was the first city in Florida to have BaitTanks installed to educate people about cigarette butts and how they are toxic to the environment.

Well, thanks for the help!

[Kay]

I share this very same complaint.  Email the TU General Manager and Ron Littlepage and anyone else you can think of.  Perhaps at a minimum we can report vacant addresses and have them stop those deliveries.

[WmNussbaum]

Go to the website citybeautifuljax.org