You learn a lot about someone through their belongings.
That was author Tim O'Brien's message in his book "The Things They Carried." He wrote about items soldiers in Vietnam kept on their person amid war - poems from lovers, letters from mothers, books and other items that were indicative of their personal lives.
And in a much smellier, less literary sense, you also learn a lot about someone through what they trash and how they trash it.
When people toss cups out the car window, junk mail in a ditch, shredded recliners in a river bank, they are littering. And seeing that, according to Lt. Michael McCoy, says all you need to know about a person.
"That they don't give a damn," he said.
McCoy has been a litter control officer with Sumter County Public Works Department for more than a year, and he has a few decades of experience as an officer with the sheriff's department.
"Litter is a different kind of law enforcement," he said.
He has a several-inch-thick stack of manila folders hosting his cases against Sumter litterbugs and said a lot of litterbugs doubt someone will go through the trouble of tracking them down and bringing them to justice, but here in Sumter County, McCoy, as well as the newest addition to the team, officer Nickolas Murray, will.
Out on McLaurin Road in Sumter County is a long, red dirt road with pine trees on either side, little sticky seeds that cling to your socks and all the makings of a good view, but it's one of the main spots that locals - locals that don't give a damn, according to McCoy - dump their trash. And with that, the view, once serene and green, is trashed.
So every so often, when McCoy or Murray has received a tip that McLaurin Road's beautiful serenity has been yet again trashed, they ride out there in their trucks equipped with all the tools of a standard sheriff's vehicle, put on some disposable black gloves, grab a trash picker and sift through around 50 pounds or more of wrongfully discarded bags.
And in those bags, just like any officer, they're looking for evidence - addressed evidence. Empty Amazon packages, medical bills, coupons and more that have names and addresses still visible. Sometimes, they'll even take account numbers still visible on the litter and call companies to learn who owns the account.
Then they place the evidence in an evidence bag that will help them build a case. And before long, that litterbug will get a knock at the door and a citation with an amount contingent upon the weight of the litter found.
And the next time that litterbug will see McCoy or Murray will be in court.
In Sumter County, the conviction rate for litterbugs is almost 100%. Rarely do Sumter County litter officers have a bad day in court. And rarely do Sumter County litterbugs have a good day in court.
From June to July 2023, for example, the litter control team had 14 litterbug cases with fines totaling $5,522.50.
And not only is each litterbug filling Sumter County government's pocket with fines of up to $2,605 (for litter more than 500 pounds), but they also get really sore hands.
McCoy recalled a litterbug that pulled him aside after the conclusion of her required community service hours she earned from illegally dumping.
"She told me, 'You will never ever see me or hear my name again 'cause I will never ever litter again because I'm not picking up no more of this trash again. I have learned my lesson with this, and my hand is about wore out.' I don't care what kind of physical shape you're in. Give those trash grabbers an hour, and it'll wear out your hand," he said.
When trash lines Sumter roads and pollutes ponds, we give a bad first impression to people or businesses wanting to move here and it hurts current residents' pride in their home, McCoy said.
Litter can be found in numerous areas throughout both the city and county, not just on McLaurin Road, and McCoy, as well as Murray, hope to be out of a job one day or at the very least be back on the force in the more traditional sense, because there will be no more litter. No more junk mail, no more McDonald's cups and no more rotten food scraps littering Sumter roads and woods.
Palmetto Pride has a litter busters hotline. If you see someone littering or illegally dumping, call 1-877-754-8837.
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