Secure Items in the Back of Your Truck
One of the main contributors to roadside litter is debris blowing and falling from trucks. Someone with an unsecured load can strew trash and debris for miles. Extra precaution needs to be taken when anything is placed in the back of a truck. Everything needs to be secured. Hitting bumps, rounding curves, and going up and down hills can cause items to dislodge and blow or fall out. Even though this source of litter is accidental, it is a violation of the littering law.
Steps
- Use a net. This will allow the air to flow through while holding items in place.
- Make a net that you can keep in the truck bed all of the time. Attach a truck net or netting with small webbing to two 2-inch plastic pipe with screws.
- Cap the ends.
- Keep the net rolled up like a scroll in the back of your truck. It’s convenient to secure one item, several items or a whole load strapped down with bungee cords or rope.
- Orange construction netting can also be used. Staple it to 2 fence post poles. This type of netting is stiff but works very well especially for covering yard waste and construction debris.
- Use a trash container for loose ends and bags of garbage. Great for taking your trash to the dump. A twenty-gallon container is easy to handle.
- Double secure the lid with a bungee cord stretched across the top and hooked to the handles. When bringing the empty container back home, put the lid back on and secure it with the bungee cord. The container will roll around in the truck bed and not blow out.
- Invest in a drop in bedliner that has molded in slots for 2x4's. You can use the 2x4's to keep stuff from sliding around. Keeping things in place will keep things from breaking off and becoming debris, and will protect your stuff.
- You can also get a spray in bedliner with a non-skid coating. Same principle as above. A rubber mat works well. It helps keep items from sliding around in the truck bed.
- Simply don't throw trash in the bed of your truck. Loose trash such as paper, cardboard, cups, bottles and cans can blow out or roll out of your vehicle. Just placing them against the cab does not cut it.
- Secure your load!! Don't lose it on the road!!
