Tuesday, Picayune’s city council approved the adoption of a better litter ordinance; one we hope will address issues seen in the past.

Everyone has driven through the city and seen the abundance of litter lining the streets. Most people would like to see something done about the problem.

So does the city council. They approved amendments to the ordinance, which add civil consequences in addition to current criminal penalties. While the details on what civil penalties will be incurred are unknown at press time, it is encouraging the city is adding them to their ordinance.

Some of the issues the ordinance addresses are advertisements or other signs posted to light and utility poles, the need for businesses to keep their parking lots and properties clean of litter, contractors being responsible for disposing of construction debris and restriction of debris being dropped from airplanes.

Planning and Zoning Director Diane Miller said the changes mean that businesses will now be responsible for ensuring their parking lots and business fronts are clean. Also, once the ordinance goes into effect in 30 days, debris from renovations or construction of homes will be the responsibility of the contractor to dispose of, not the city.

Another aspect of the ordinance, which was actually included in the previous version, is restricting distribution of flyers on vehicles in parking lots.

No one likes coming back to his or her vehicle with a load of groceries to find a flyer beneath their windshield wiper. Hopefully, this part of the ordinance will limit these occurrences.

One of the more tangible differences of this ordinance is that the city’s code enforcement officer will have authority to enforce litter laws, and issue tickets for violations.

This ordinance will go into effect 30 days from Tuesday, when it was approved by the city council.

We applaud the city council for their efforts.