Snohomish County’s Litter Wranglers are returning to the road in 2022 for their fifth season in six years.

Last year, the program removed nearly 6,000 bags of garbage from county rights of way.

“The Litter Wranglers were originally deployed to fix a widespread problem throughout Snohomish County—trash on the side of the road—and they have exceeded our highest expectations,” said Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers. “This innovative program is an example of how creative problem solving can fix some of our most pressing needs and reinforce some of our highest values.”

The Litter Wranglers returned in 2021 after being paused in 2020 due to the global pandemic. The team almost set a new program record by collecting nearly 6,000 bags of trash despite having one less member than in 2019.

The partnership between the Litter Wranglers and residents helps to guide the program. Calls and emails from the public reporting litter sites contribute to the Litter Wranglers’ success. The information is then compiled and sites are grouped together to collect the material as efficiently as possible. The system maximizes the crew’s work on the road to get the most out of their time.

The crew has been able to get a site cleaned within a week of a report from the public. Snohomish County residents can participate in the program by continuing to report areas with excessive litter.

Report a litter location by:

• Emailing: Litter.Wranglers@snoco.org
• Calling: 425-388-7500

Litter Wranglers also clean work sites before public works’ maintenance crews arrive for projects. This allows expert maintenance crews to stay focused on road maintenance tasks and be more efficient, saving taxpayers’ money.

The county-employed Litter Wrangler crew of four to six members is trained on how to safely deal with trash while working along the road next to traffic. Residents may see the Litter Wranglers between 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday throughout the county until November.