Monterey County has Officially Earned the Unique Designation as a Clean California Community from Caltrans’ Clean CA initiative; This Recognition Acknowledges Local Efforts to Reduce Illegal Dumping and Litter, Preserve the Environment, and Build Healthier Communities!

 

The designation reflects the County’s role as a leader in California’s Zero Litter movement to reduce litter and keep all parts of the state as clean, healthy and beautiful as possible. Comprised of local city and county agencies, industry leaders, law enforcement, agricultural businesses, and community activists, Monterey County’s Illegal Dumping and Litter Abatement Task Force (IDLATF) strives to reduce illegal dumping in the County through a unified effort of education, enforcement, increased recycling, funding of clean-up activities, and community collaboration.

 

Founded in 1996, the IDLATF developed the County’s Disposal Voucher Program, the first of its kind. This unique partnership between Monterey County Environmental Health Bureau, Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority, and ReGen Monterey offers free disposal of litter and illegally dumped material for community clean-up events and victims of illegal dumping.

 

On average, Monterey County removes approximately 200 tons of illegally dumped waste annually from County roads at a cost of over $300,000. In 2024, Monterey County increased illegal dumping fines from $100, $200, and $500 for each subsequent offense to $2,500, $5,000, and $10,000. In the same year, the IDLATF launched its Pilot Camera Surveillance Program to strengthen enforcement initiatives by holding perpetrators accountable with administrative citations and fines.

 

The Clean California Community Designation Program is part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s $1.2 billion Clean California initiative, which was launched in 2021 by Caltrans to clean up, reclaim, transform, and beautify public spaces statewide. The program was developed in partnership with Caltrans, Keep America Beautiful and Keep California Beautiful.

 

To earn the Clean California designation, Monterey County completed at least 10 of 15 criteria to clean up and beautify the County, including quarterly litter clean-up events hosted by the IDLATF, informative social media campaigns, infrastructure to support the County Mandatory Garbage collection, community clean-up events hosted by local franchised haulers, Blue Zones Certification, and expansion of the County’s Roadside & Litter Abatement Services.

 

Monterey County encourages other communities throughout California to join the program and continue to clean up and transform California. For more information about the program, visit CleanCA.com/Designation.

 

For upcoming cleanup events and activities from Monterey County’s IDLATF, please visit Monterey County IDLATF.

 

 

About Clean California: 

Since July 2021, Caltrans’ Clean California initiative and its local partners have removed more than 3.4 million cubic yards of litter from roadsides and public spaces—enough to fill about 136,000 garbage trucks. Caltrans also hosted more than 650 free dump days in communities throughout the state, resulting in the collection of 15,500-plus mattresses and 57,000 tires. The initiative has enlisted 72,000-plus community clean-up volunteers and created thousands of jobs, including positions for individuals who were formerly incarcerated on probation or experiencing housing insecurity.  

For more information, visit CleanCA.com. 

 

About Keep America Beautiful: 

Keep America Beautiful is the leading community improvement nonprofit organization in the U.S. dedicated to inspiring and educating people to act every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, it includes 700 Keep America Beautiful affiliates and millions of volunteers who strive to end littering, improve recycling, and beautify America’s communities. For more information, visit kab.org.

 

About Keep California Beautiful:

Keep California Beautiful is a statewide non-profit dedicated to litter prevention, alternative waste management, beautification, community networking, and outreach. Founded in 1990, its mission is to ignite individuals, state and local government, community, and corporate responsibility, through strategic initiatives and volunteer action, to preserve and protect California’s beautiful resources for generations to come.