The volunteers picking up trash in the community hear the same question repeatedly: Does anyone ever get fined for littering? There are “Do Not Litter” signs posted with threats of fines, cameras seem to be everywhere these days, and the community’s frustration seems to be growing as fast as the junk lining our roadways and parking lots.



The short answer, unfortunately, is no. Not too many fines are given out because it is difficult to catch the guilty parties, explained Jennifer Albero, head of recycling for Wicomico County. Prior to the pandemic, Albero said, “probably six or seven people” did get fined for littering, including being charged court costs, with a reminder that they could even get jail time if it continues.

We’ve all undoubtedly seen trash left at recycling stations, and cameras and signs against littering are posted. Unfortunately, going through the video footage to try to figure out when the dumping occurred is a time-consuming task that is ineffective. Watching hours of footage for several days trying to catch those few moments is not feasible. “It’s an extremely lengthy process,” Albero explained. The cameras can’t catch people leaving trash in the dark or purposely avoiding the cameras to not get caught.

As far as the trash being put into the bins themselves, Albero said the county does not have the staff to go through the trash for addresses to catch the guilty parties.

When it comes to roadside trash and dumping, it is nearly impossible to catch people. When volunteers find an address in trash that’s been dumped, they send pictures to Albero, who will then send that named individual a warning letter. As one of the many community volunteers who picks up trash, I’ve personally sent photos. 

But the caveat, as every official will tell you, is that it can’t really be proven that that person is the one who actually dumped it. According to the county code, the responsibility for the violation does indeed rest with the person whose address is on the mail however and that person could be fined.

According to the Wicomico County Code, Article 1, section 156.4: 
“The person identified as the recipient of addressed mail, correspondence, envelopes, invoices or shipping tags contained within any litter, garbage, rubbish or refuse unlawfully thrown, dumped or deposited upon any public or private property within the county shall be presumed to be the owner of said litter, garbage, rubbish or refuse and shall be responsible for the violation of this chapter.”

But that really is only a small part of the trash that is found in the county. Mostly it’s the dumped tires, the fast-food trash by the side of the road, and the unending stream of beer bottles and mini liquor bottles that have the public frustrated. One thing is certain, for all the trash that is left, whether it’s something small or large, it all seems to boil down to laziness.

So what’s the answer? County Councilman Josh Hastings, District 4, said that Wicomico needs to have a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to trash. He envisions a county campaign based on fining the maximum amount for trash and littering, combined with an educational component and more signage.



“We want to make it clear that dumping, littering and the like are wholly unacceptable in Wicomico County. This plan would include programming - and maybe separate staffing – to pick up trash, put out more signs, improving recycling options and to give the maximum fines,” he explained.

County resident Bruce Robson echoed his comments. Robson, who along with friend Mark Engberg, founded the all-volunteer group Wicomico Clean, said it’s going to take a multi-pronged, long-term approach to turn things around. Wicomico Clean has organized quite a few cleanups since its inception in January, along with other volunteers like Craig Faunce with The Faunce Foundation who has been picking up trash for years in the county. While volunteers will tell you they enjoy helping the county and there’s much satisfaction in cleaning up an area, the volunteer effort alone is not sustainable.

After a recent large-scale cleanup on Foskey Lane in Delmar, while the collected trash was piled up awaiting a county truck on Monday morning, someone dumped several bags of trash right across the road. The road didn’t even stay clean for a few hours! 

Robson explained, “In order to be sustainable, it will need to be led by government. It’s their responsibility. And it will need citizens to not throw litter out.”

To have any lasting impact, he continued, “There will need to be work and input from government as the leader, civic organizations, schools, businesses, churches and individuals.”

To that end, volunteers have been regularly meeting with Salisbury city and Wicomico County employees and several elected officials to brainstorm ways to eliminate littering. There has been much discussion but not definitive plans yet.

Another frequent question from the community is what role the inmate population plays in trash removal. Prior to 2020, the county had three inmate crews – two handled roadside trash and one sorted recycling. Albero explained it was work-release prisoners on those crews but then COVID happened, and those inmates were sent home from jail with ankle-monitoring bracelets. The program never started up again. Inmates from ECI, Eastern Correctional Institution, in Westover still sort recycling at the Brick Kiln Road facility, but that crew is down to 6 at the most from a high of 16 people.

The county does not have the finances or the manpower to pick up roadside trash, but an employee does pick up trash on the roads to the landfill, she said. Wicomico Clean did several large scale cleans up here recently, too. 

What about recycling? Let’s just all recycle more, right? I used to take my recycling to the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center bins, but those were removed last summer along with bins behind the Extension Office on Old Quantico Road. Sam’s Club bins were removed spring of 2023. Trash dumped at those locations was a problem for a long time; I regularly cleaned it up and reported it occasionally the last few years.

Other bins removed a few years ago were near the Fruitland City Council building, the Salisbury University athletic fields on Power Street, and where the Burger King is now located in North Salisbury.

There are still 15 recycling stations in the county, but I admit they are not as conveniently located for me. Some of them are still having problems with dumping. But the more we recycle, the less we keep out of the landfill, so I’m trying to do my part. 

Trash is a costly business. Trash haulers pay by the ton at the landfill, and that rate was a point of contention in the new county budget that took effect July 1. A resolution was passed at the council meeting June 4 to raise the rate from $67 a ton to $100, effective only a month later. However, the trash companies were not contacted until two weeks later, and even if they had been aware of it June 4, that was not enough time to implement new rates.

As soon as he was notified, Seagull Disposal owner Andrew Duley contacted county officials and spoke at the next council meeting objecting to the exorbitant and rapid increase. I was at the meeting; County Executive Julie Giordano admitted that her office should have contacted trash haulers, but so should have the county council.

Following public comments and discussion and being informed they could not simply change the amount because the budget was set, the council agreed to a new resolution. The county executive put forth an increase instead from $67 to $78, which was approved, but then the council voted to put forth another resolution at its meeting today, July 2, to keep the current rate but not raise it to $78 until January 1. 

The question that remains is how did the county executive and the county council think they could enact a 50% rate increase with only a few weeks’ notice? This had the potential to put small businesses out of business.

County officials said this rate, known as the tipping fee, is currently the lowest in the tri-county area so it is being raised to make it more competitive. Tipping fees help pay for “cells,” how trash is compacted, at the landfill; Wicomico put in 2.5 cells about three years ago for $8 million. “We’ve already almost filled up one of them,” Albero said. “We see over 300 trucks (at the landfill) any given day and we are open six days a week.”



Higher tipping fees mean higher rates passed on to residents and businesses. 

If you are not paying a company for trash pickup, your option is to take the trash to the landfill yourself, and in Wicomico County, that costs $60 for one year and one vehicle sticker. The fee for two vehicles is $90. Apply online, and stickers will be mailed, or purchase a sticker in person.

Whatever way you dispose of your trash, do it responsibly. It will take a concerted effort by government, community leaders and citizens to make any lasting difference in the quest for zero tolerance for littering or we will continue down the same ineffective path.