Tom Grant's yard broke it's own record Monday.

It stayed litter-free for a full 24 hours. No cups, no bags and no bottles - for the first time in the four and a half years he has lived on Springer Street.

Grant, the director of Building and Neighborhood Services for Carbondale, said he barely keeps up with people who toss trash in his yard.

And the problem is symptomatic of the rest of Carbondale.

"What tends to happen is people go to 'XYZ fast food emporium' and get fries and a sandwich, and as they drive down the road, they just toss it out the window," said Don Monty, the assistant city manager.

The question of whether the trash in Carbondale is worse than other cities remained unanswered. What is clear is that city officials, homeowners, students and landlords are tired of the trash.

The real trashy deal

Michael Ranvestal didn't know why the city wouldn't pick up his trash.

It was still by the curb Thursday afternoon, a pile of boxes, lumber and bags beginning to seep into the street.

"I just saw piles of garbage in people's yards, and we thought we'd do the same," Ranvestal said.

Wayne Wheeles, manager of maintenance and environmental services, said the city gives students two weeks after move-in before they start enforcing collection policies.

"The manner in which some of the residents set their garbage to curbside, it's very time consuming for us to pick it up if it's not in a packaged, organized manner," Wheeles said. "Time is money for us."

The cost of fuel for garbage trucks is obviously a concern, he said.

Despite the cost, street sweepers, large vehicles with rotating brushes, run daily to pick up trash in the streets.

More parties, more trash

The trash problem in Carbondale extends to some areas in particular, extending from downtown and seeping into neighborhoods, Wheeles said.

And unfortunately, street sweepers can't entirely clean yards or sidewalks. If it isn't picked up, as a last resort, one of the 20 street maintenance workers has to do the deed.

"It's not uncommon," he said. "But it's gross."

Monty said Cherry and Beveridge streets present particular challenges because of the high concentration of house parties. He said Grant's department spends a large amount of time trying to enforce litter laws.

Carbondale city ordinance says where there's trash, there's a fine ranging from $10 to $750 per day. If those who litter are not apparent, such as in apartment complexes, the landlord pays the fine.

"There's some of us looking to up the fine on that," Grant said. "I'm a really a proponent in having laws like Montana, where throwing trash out your window is $500."

Another aspect of the beginning of the school year in rental housing is the amount of furniture left curbside.

Grant said the time to have furniture picked up free of charge has passed. Now, if students want to get rid of big furniture, they must call the city and pay a fee.

Taking out the trash

The people seeking the solution are asking for help.

Keep Carbondale Beautiful, a volunteer organization, started the Adopt-A-Spot program to help keep trashing areas clean.

But Monty, who is on the organization's board with Grant, said some organizations don't perform.

"You get organizations like fraternities and sororities on campus, the leaders sign them up and sometimes a change in leadership happens, and they don't know about it," Monty said.

But the organization, along with others in the region, is working to fight ignorance about the environment.

Paul Restivo, the advisor of the Beautify Southern Illinois Student Alliance and a board member of Keep Carbondale Beautiful, said litter can put the community at an economic disadvantage by scaring away big business, but students have the opportunity to make a difference.

The student alliance has been working on a beautification project that includes picking up litter, planting flowers and planting trees since 2005. Their efforts caught the attention of Glenn Poshard, who in turn helped establish 17 county versions of the student group called Beautify Southern Illinois, Restivo said.

"He decided that we really ought to make this a region-wide effort," Restivo said. "In February, the region-wide concept was spanned - in large part because of the positive experiences that Dr. Poshard is aware of with our students."

Restivo said students can get involved either through the student or regional alliances or during the Saluki Volunteer Corps' Day of Service on Sept. 10.

Reporter Roger Darrigrand contributed to this report.