Taylor continues her personal war on roadside trash

Photo: Michelle Taylor pages through a scrapbook made with photos and items from her years of constant trash collection. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)

Michelle Taylor is not one to let things lie around, especially when it comes to litter and roadway trash.  

Retired after about 20 years with the Olive Branch Police Department, Taylor has not let time or dirty highways lessen her passionate crusade to put litter in its place, the trash can.  

One day you may see her walking the roads in Olive Branch, the next in Southaven, and another day it may be Horn Lake. We caught up with her recently along Highway 51 in Hernando where the bag was out and she was picking up most everything she could fit into the bag.  

Taylor is one who, as she puts it, sees an issue and she addresses it.  

“In this case, it happens to be litter on the roadside,” Taylor said. “It’s everywhere. Everybody hates it, so I try to do something about it, to make our area look better and nicer. I know I’m not gonna win, you know, but that’s not the point. I do what I gotta do at the time.”

Taylor has been cleaning up the roadside since 1997, she said, and her war on garbage has continued ever since.  

“I just saw the litter picking up on a certain road near my house, and I didn’t think about calling anybody to take care of it,” Taylor said. “I put my shoes on, and got it.” Taylor eventually started making some signs that got people’s attention and the battle was on.  

How does Taylor decide where she needs to go on a particular day? She said it’s a pretty easy decision, or really no decision at all.  

“I truly don’t go looking for them, they just appear,” said Taylor. “Everybody hates trash, and I don’t expect everybody to get down and pick it up as is my form of exercise, but it’s just hurtful to the community, in my opinion.”

It hurts the community in many ways and officials will be quick to say that. They may admit that possible business opportunities coming to DeSoto County were lost when potential business leaders visited and saw the trashy condition of the roads.  

But the fight continues on a variety of fronts. For instance, in Mississippi, the state Department of Transportation allocates over $3 million annually to remove litter from the state’s roadways. This expenditure covers various initiatives, including inmate litter crews, public awareness campaigns, and community programs like Adopt-a-Highway .

In addition to MDOT’s efforts, local municipalities also invest in litter removal. 

In DeSoto County, road crews and even inmate trustys can be seen collecting litter from the roads.  Two trustys wear ankle monitors and are paired with county road crews, placed into a rotation and are watched by armed guards as they work.  

As far back as 2015, the county launched the “Shame On Y’All” anti-litter campaign to address the growing problem of roadside trash. The initiative involved placing nearly 100 signs throughout the county, prominently displaying the fines associated with littering violations. These signs were aimed to raise public awareness and deter individuals from littering by highlighting the legal and financial consequences .

Despite these substantial efforts, Mississippi continues to face challenges with littering. The state’s litter rates are nearly 30 percent higher than the national average, underscoring the need for continued public education and community involvement to address this persistent issue.

Meanwhile, Taylor continues to plod the roadside picking up trash.  

“I’ve tried to get people to help,” Taylor said. “Some are older, some have ankle problems, something like that. They can’t stay with me, which is fine, but anyway, we just all do our little parts, whatever it is,”

She said she’s never seen any snakes while walking the road, but she has picked up poison ivy. Taylor has also encountered items like a couple of coconuts, a furry piggy bank, and even some menswear.

“I was probably down Germantown Road in Olive Branch with six men’s suits that were thrown out,” Taylor recounted. “So I don’t know if she got mad or he lost his laundry or what, but that was pretty funny, and of course, I got them there in pretty good shape and passed them to somebody that might need them.”

But where does Taylor’s trash collection go? She heads to a spot she affectionately calls “Mount BFI,” where Taylor knows it’ll be collected and taken away.  

Taylor’s one admonition to DeSoto County as she continues her push to keep the road clear of litter: 

“Let’s do a little better, folks, it’s my Father’s world.”