Today, Keep Rockland Beautiful announced it had received its 100th report to its “litterbug hotline.” The hotline, 845-708-9164, allows “litter witnesses” to call and report offenders (like the one spotted today on New Hempstead Road). Callers, who remain anonymous, give the time and location of the trash tossing, along with the vehicle’s license plate number and vehicle’s description. KRB takes the information and turns it over to the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department. The sheriff then uses the plate to track down the vehicle owner and send a letter notifying the owner about the incident. There’s no fine, no permanent record, so even an errant report (or prank) won’t cause a stir. The letter has a friendly tone with assurances that it is confidential. But it also reminds recipients that if the littering “had been observed by a law enforcement officer the driver of your vehicle could have been cited to court, fined, required to pick up your litter and perform community service work picking up other people’s litter.”

The litter letter program officially launched in November of 2007. “We’re proud,” KRB Executive Director Andy Stewart said of the three-digit milestone. “I think it fulfills an essential community need, which is people have to communicate the rules of the game to people who aren’t playing by the rules.

“We’re giving people an opportunity to communicate expectations of responsible behavior to other individuals who need to hear that, becuase, they, too are members of the community,” Stewart said. “That’s how community works. … Litterbugs are not bad people. The goal here is to reach out with a reminder and a little slap on the wrist. There’s plenty of slobs out there, when they get the letter, they really do hear it. most people know they shouldn’t litter … but if there’s pushback, they’re going to think twice about it.

Stewart noted that the vehicle owner who receives the letter may not be the driver who was seen tossing a wrapper out the window. “It could be the parent of a driver, or owner of a roofing company.” And that’s OK, he notes. Business owners would likely appreciate the headsup about littering workers. They don’t want their employees, especially if they’re driving a truck with the company’s logo on the side, performing such an environmentally damaging deed.

Stewart noted that the litter-calling brigade is one thing, and law enforcement of the litter laws (it’s a violation with fines that reach into the hundreds of dollars in some areas) is another. The litter letters, he said are”not intended to be a substitute for police writing litter tickets.”