Lexington County Solid Waste Management and the Pelion Police Department will receive PalmettoPride litter law enforcement grants to increase efforts to ticket and fine litterbugs.

PalmettoPride announced eight recipients of its annual enforcement grants on Wednesday, Aug. 19. Agencies use the money to purchase equipment to monitor hot spots for illegal dumping and to host community outreach events like tarp giveaways and waste tire buybacks. In the 2027 grant cycle, PalmettoPride awarded $31,881 to eight local and county agencies across seven counties.

In addition to Lexington County Solid Waste Management and the Pelion Police Department, grants were awarded to the Allendale County Sheriff's Office, Anderson County Environmental & Code Enforcement, Bamberg County Code Enforcement, Chester County Government, Dorchester County Public Works/Solid Waste and the town of Ware Shoals.

Enforcement is one of several ways meaningful behavior change around litter can take place, though it is the most consequential, with fines and penalties of up to $1,000 and up to a year in prison, the group said in a news release. PalmettoPride has long worked alongside enforcement partners to increase the number of littering and unsecured-load tickets issued statewide.

To qualify for the grant, recipients must report how many tickets they issue each month and show how the funding increased those rates. Last year, PalmettoPride's enforcement grantees collected $86,308 in fines from littering, illegal dumping and unsecured-load violations.

In 2023, PalmettoPride took part in a multistate enforcement study that found little support among South Carolina judges and officers for increasing fine amounts, noting that steeper fines could reduce enforcement by making officers more hesitant to issue tickets. The finding reflects a broader pattern in enforcement research: the certainty of getting caught, not the severity of the penalty, is what changes behavior. As a result, PalmettoPride pivoted to helping agencies increase the number of tickets issued rather than pushing for harsher penalties. This grant program supports that goal, along with the organization's annual Zero Tolerance for Litter campaign, coordinated each June with the South Carolina Litter Control Association.

"We're happy to give our enforcement partners every resource they need — equipment, outreach materials, whatever it takes," said Sarah Lyles, executive director of PalmettoPride. "But at the end of the day, we need officers writing tickets. These eight agencies are proof of what's possible when enforcement is a priority, and we're calling on agencies across South Carolina to follow their lead."

Agencies interested in future grant cycles can learn more at palmettopride.org/grants or contact info@palmettopride.org.