CALTRANS PROGRAM TARGETS LITTER.

Byline: Steve Carney Staff Writer

Enough soda cans, cigarette packs and fast-food wrappers fly out of car windows and onto L.A. freeways every year to fill a line of garbage trucks 40 miles long.

And every day, Caltrans workers or Adopt-A-Highway volunteers are scouring highway shoulders to pick up the debris - which has included drugs, body parts, sofas and 500 cases of wine.

``If it's been manufactured, eventually it's found its way on the freeway,'' said Margie Tiritilli, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation.

The agency has started an experiment near California State University, Los Angeles, to find out if warning signs and CHP citations will stem the tide of trash.

Caltrans' initial anti-litter program - on the San Bernardino Freeway near the university - includes the posting of do not litter signs. Near the end of the year, after weeks of warnings, the California Highway Patrol will start issuing up to $1,000 fines to trash tossers.

``I don't think they do it to damage the environment. They think, oh, it will disintegrate, or it's only one little Styrofoam cup,'' Tiritilli said.

But garbage tossed from cars onto the freeway, and the debris that drops from trucks, are more than eyesores. They create serious traffic hazards.

From 1994 to 1998 in California, 39 people died in 35 crashes involving a driver trying to avoid road debris, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The greatest danger comes from large objects that fall off trucks or cars during transport. Typical hazards include tools, ladders, lumber, sofas, mattresses and other items that fall onto the freeway because people don't secure them well enough.

``And during Christmas season we have a lot of Christmas trees,'' said California Highway Patrol Officer Lydia Martinez Prows. ``Once you get going at 65 mph, that better be tied down properly.''

Beyond creating hazards, the garbage also clogs storm drains, creating dangerous flooding on the freeways, and washes out to pollute rivers and the ocean.

That problem led to the latest anti-litter campaign, a partnership between Caltrans and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Caltrans wants to see how effective the signs and increased ticketing are in reducing litter before they extend the tactics to other areas.

``We could sure fill a lot of potholes'' with the millions spent on garbage cleanup, Tiritilli said. ``It's money that could be better spent than on litter, if we would only act responsibly.''

Instead, the garbage keeps on coming.

``I could sweep 24 hours a day, seven days a week and never get caught up,'' said John Sturgis, a Caltrans maintenance supervisor, whose crew helps clean the Golden State, Ventura and Glendale freeways. ``People are messy. They should be using litter bags.''

Every week, Sturgis' crew collects 200 to 300 cubic yards of debris. That's enough to fill 70 to 100 telephone booths.

If something falls from your truck, Sturgis and his workers advise that you not screech to a halt in the fast lane and try to retrieve it. The safest plan is to keep driving and go call the CHP or Caltrans. They will stop traffic, fetch the item and hold it for you.

Sturgis said his workers get a lot of cleanup help from volunteers in the Adopt-A-Highway program, in which 4,500 individuals, groups and organizations have pledged to keep two-mile stretches of state highways clean.

``They're into it because they don't like the litter, and they're real aggressive,'' said Jack Broadbent, Caltrans' statewide coordinator for the program.

Some businesses see it not only as philanthropy but as cheap advertising. Because there is public-relations value in the blue roadside signs that name highway-cleanup benefactors, areas with heavy traffic can have a waiting list of up to 10 years, Broadbent said. But the donors pay the price - because of high traffic, those locations also have the most trash - so the two forces balance, Broadbent said.

``It works pretty slick for us in that respect,'' he said.

Benefactors are required have their areas cleaned at least four times a year, though the frequency can increase to twice a month for high-traffic zones. Caltrans maintenance crews spot-check the areas to make sure they're being cleaned, and groups that slough off on their responsibilities won't be renewed.

In those few instances, it isn't a crisis, Tiritilli said. Caltrans has more people and groups on its waiting lists than permissible areas to keep clean - the volunteers aren't allowed on medians, narrow shoulders or other dangerous spots.

That leaves most of the refuse removal to crews like Sturgis'. He said he needs to have workers cleaning somewhere on the 200 lane-miles under their responsibility every day - and can't let any stretch go for three or more days. ``It would look like a dump if I did,'' he said.

``I do a lot of sweeping, and I do put a lot of effort into it,'' Sturgis said. ``I hate a dirty freeway.''

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Photo: Caltrans worker Larry White carries debris picked up from the southbound Golden State Freeway near the Los Feliz exit.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer