The Resident

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CITY TEAMS UPWITH DMV TO CRACK DOWN ON VEHICLE LITTERING

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

Residents now have a way to report litterbugs who toss their trash out car windows in San Jose through a new city program intended to make local roadways cleaner.

The city's Anti-Litter Campaign set up a vehicle anti-litter hotline six months ago as way to let residents report those who litter.

"There's a lot of litter everywhere, and it detracts from the city itself," said Art Catbagan, San Jose anti-litter and graffiti superintendent. "This hotline will allow people to keep a close look and, when they see people littering, provide them with a tool to report it."

Catbagan said the program is designed to be an educational tool to make those who litter more aware of the consequences of their actions.

When making the call, callers are asked for the make, model, location and, if available, license plate number of the littering vehicle, Catbagan said.

"We will be working with Department of Motor Vehicles," he said. "They will return an address to us, and we will send a letter to the registered owner of the vehicle spotted littering."

The letter, along with simply informing registered owners that they were spotted tossing trash out of the car, will also include information on the $4.5 million annually spent by CalTrans to clean up litter, and the basic littering laws in the city and its fees.

The letter doesn't carry a fine, Catbagan said.

"It is just designed to let the vehicle owner know that a violation was observed," he said.

Not everyone is littering purposefully, Catbagan added.

Sometimes a vehicle with debris in the back, if it's not properly covered, will litter all over the streets, he said.

To report litter, call 408.277.4111.