An Albrightsville resident is trying to curb litter in Carbon County.

Carla Benckert recently contacted Carbon County Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard and state Rep. Doyle Heffley regarding litter and dead animals alongside Route 534 near the intersection of Route 903 in the Albrightsville area. She has been working to clean up the roads over the past year, when she and over 40 Towamensing Trails residents collected trash along the roadways.In an email Benckert sent to Heffley and Gerhard, she said that when driving that road, she was "shocked" because there were two dead deer, as well as "garbage bags, bottles, cans and everything one can imagine" along the road.Heffley and Gerhard made a few phone calls to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which oversees state highways, and as a result, crews were out cleaning up the road Tuesday."We contacted PennDOT on her behalf and they had some manpower available to do the cleanup, and I appreciate that," Heffley said via telephone Tuesday afternoon.He commended the crew that oversees PennDOT in Carbon County for the job they do throughout the year.Gerhard said that he also called the Pennsylvania Game Commission about the carcasses and learned that the commission is down to one officer, who covers 587 square miles of roadway, so PennDOT has contracted with private people regarding the cleanup of animals. The animals have since been removed, he said.On Wednesday evening, Benckert again emailed Gerhard and Heffley, saying that litter, including "tires, a pile of white full trash bags and everything else one can imagine" was still along Route 534 off Route 903.Heffley again contacted PennDOT officials, who clarified that they did, in fact, pick up the trash along the state roadway, but can only clean up to 16 feet from the center line of the road.The remaining trash is beyond PennDOT's right of way and on private property, Heffley explained, noting that road crews are not permitted to trespass on someone's property for the purpose of cleaning up trash along a state road.After the initial email, Gerhard voiced his concern about the litter, which is a problem that has plagued not only Carbon County, but the entire state, for decades."I agree with Carla," he said. "You come into this county and it's a disgrace. These people (motorists traveling through the region) unfortunately are slobs. They drive through our county and just throw their trash."He said Benckert suggested increasing the littering fine in the county from the state's $300 fine."You can raise it from $300 to $300,000, but unless you catch these people, raising the fines won't do any good," Gerhard said.He added that the county has reimplemented the inmate work program in 2015, where municipalities could use work release eligible inmates for projects such as litter cleanup along roadways, but to date no municipality has taken advantage of the free help. The only cost of the program is that the municipality provide supervision for the inmates and lunches.Benckert suggested that a meeting be set up to discuss the possibility of implementing a sustainable litter control program, as well as pressure PennDOT to do more with regards to keeping the roads litter free."The goal is that a multipronged effort can be coordinated for municipalities to plan and review the tools available to them to collectively tackle the litter epidemic that threatens the beauty of the area," she said.Heffley said he encourages the fight against litter to start with the residents by participating in the Adopt A Highway program. The program pairs volunteers with area highways as a way to help keep roadways litter free.Organizations like Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, as well as church groups, veterans groups, schools and other clubs can adopt a highway and help keep it clean through cleanup events."I encourage local residents to participate in that program," he said. "Certain parts of our county see a large influx of tourists coming through and unfortunately, some people aren't respectful of the environment and leave their trash behind."He said that he would be willing to facilitate or attend a meeting in the coming months, pending his schedule in Harrisburg, if organizations or groups would want to work to clean up the litter.For more information on the Adopt A Highway program, Heffley said that residents should contact his office.