Rhode Island § 37-15-13 - Litter Control and Recycling

§ 37-15-13. Allocation of funds.

(a) The department shall allocate and distribute money from the litter control appropriation, by way of grants or transfers, to eligible persons for the following activities:

(1) Collecting litter along public streets and highways, on parks and recreation lands, and on or along the waters of the state including, but not limited to, expenditures for a youth corps litter program which is hereby created and which shall employ persons from the state. To facilitate litter collection, the department shall transfer fifty-six thousand two hundred and fifty dollars ($56,250) on July 1, 1993, October 1, 1993, January 1, 1994, April 1, 1994, and every year thereafter, to the Department of Corrections for the purposes of litter pick-up on the state’s highways;

(2) Establishing or expanding community recycling centers;

(3) Improving enforcement of litter laws;

(4) Purchasing litter receptacles, litter bags, collection and pickup equipment, and related materials;

(5) Designing and publishing a state anti-litter symbol;

(6) Organizing and conducting educational programs designed to increase public awareness of the litter problem, the need for compliance with anti-litter laws, the need for recycling, and the availability of community recycling centers;

(7) Conducting initial surveys of the amount and composition of litter on the public places in the state and conducting follow-up surveys to measure the progress of litter reduction and recycling programs; and

(8) Purchasing and erecting roadside signs indicating the penalties imposed for littering or the availability of community recycling centers.

(b) Any city or town that initiates a program mandating separation of certain forms of garbage, rubbish, or trash (such as newspapers, bottles, and cans) for the purpose of recycling shall be eligible to receive a grant or loan from the litter control account for that program.

(c) The department shall not use any funds for the purpose of replacing any litter pickup or rubbish removal activity presently performed by the department.

(d) The department of transportation shall continue to be responsible for the removal of litter from all state highways.