Our Daily Show Interview! Talkin' Trash With Rusty Wheat and Denise Sparks
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ALTON - Two environmental advocates recently stopped by “Our Daily Show!” with CJ Nasello to talk about trash pickup.
Rusty Wheat, the one-man “Chain Gang” who picks up trash in Roxana and Wood River, has collaborated with Sparks Junk Removal owner Denise Sparks to spread the word about reporting litter and disposing of trash. They shared information about new laws that have taken effect and new resources in Madison County that aim to combat litter.
“All I want to do is get the community cleaned up. That’s all,” Wheat said. “I think you’re going to see more concentrated police effort coming on because those new laws have only been in effect a short period of time and Chris Slusser has only been in office a short period of time. The police, I can only envision that they’re putting their brains together and their attack plan. I suspect there are going to be some big changes. In fact, if there’s not, that’s when probably people ought to start raising hell.”
Wheat and Sparks explained their main concern is trash that flies out of trash trucks on the side of the road. They encourage people to do little things, like double-knotting their garbage bags, to prevent this. But they believe the trash companies should take more responsibility for mitigating the amount of trash on the roadways.
Wheat added that he believes Slusser, the newly elected Madison County Board Chairman, will make a “concentrated effort to battle” trash. Sparks also commended State Senator Erica Harriss and State Representative Amy Elik, who have met with her a few times to talk about issues in the industry. She said Elik recently introduced Illinois House Bill 2862 to combat the fuel surcharge that trucks like Sparks’s incur when they dispose of trash at a landfill.
“House Bill 2862 was introduced about the fuel surcharge to eliminate the fuel surcharge fee,” Sparks explained. “It’s an unnecessary fee that’s being imposed on all of us haulers every time we enter the landfill. It should be covered under our tonnage price.”
She added that she is “thrilled” about the new bill, and she hopes it passes. Sparks and Wheat both encourage community members to reach out to their elected officials about issues like trash.
“They were elected and the people voted them into their position,” Sparks said. “If there’s an issue, I look at it like, you’re an elected official. You’ve been put in this position. If we have issues, we should be able to go to those individuals.”
Wheat noted that Madison County recently introduced the Clean Communities Litter Grant Program, which will reward applicants $2,500 for litter cleanup efforts and events. While he is not eligible unless he attaches himself to a specific municipality, he encourages others to apply and do their own litter cleanup events.
Wheat and Sparks have been advocating for better trash management for years now. They are pleased with the changes they are seeing, and they have high hopes for what is going to happen next.
“There are a lot of positive things going on,” Wheat added. “I’m honestly optimistic about what’s going to be taking place in the future.”
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