A message from Prince William County: Don’t be so trashy
Prince William County, Virginia, has put a lot of effort into cleaning up roadside trash over the last few years, but county leaders hope people will do better.
At a recent board of supervisors meeting, Khattab Shammout, director of Prince William County Public Works, said in 2025, about 167,000 pounds of trash were collected by three county crews.
“We’re going to continue on, this is not a one-time thing. You clean the roadway, and in half an hour, it may get dirty,” Shammout said.
In 2026, the county will have five crews picking up trash and expect to collect closer to 180,000 pounds of wrappers, bags, cups and all sorts of other things.
Prince William County also partners with a nonprofit to pick up litter on private property and encourages people to participate in Dumpster Day events, where county residents can drop off trash. According to a county report, about 20 tons of trash total were collected at 12 events in 2025.
On the recycling front, the Recycling Program Unit connected with over 3,000 community members at more than 35 events in 2025.
A social media campaign featuring a mascot called Trashy the Racoon is also underway. In addition to that, the county plans to connect with local homeowner’s associations, make presentations in schools and explore a placement of a litter prevention campaign message on the county tax mailer.