Some states have “Tarp Days” in which tarps as passed out to residents to cover and contain any garbage transported by truck or car, while others have regulations for using truck tarps. In the case of parts of West Virginia, the state doesn’t have direct tarp laws but, according to an article published in The Register-Herald, the state does have an unsecured load law to prevent littering from garbage and other debris from blowing off a car. This article mentions that a landfill in Raleigh County has “free days,” or days in which residents can deposit their garbage at the landfill without charge. But, often on these “free days,” the amount of debris flying off cars from unsecured loads results in littering and, as a result, the county requires those transporting garbage to use a tarp or net.
Essentially, using a tarp or a net to prevent garbage from being blown about is much like using a truck tarp on a larger vehicle. Although some states, as mentioned in previous posts, have different regulations regarding when to use truck tarps, with some states stating that a tarp isn’t necessary if the load is one foot below the edge of the truck, having a polyethylene or mesh tarp in place prevents particles of all sizes – from sand to trash – from blowing out of the vehicle. Essentially the unsecured load law in West Virginia is much like a tarp law, only the material covering the load doesn’t always need to be a tarp.
A tarp gives the most effective protection out of the three options mentioned in the article: tarps, netting, and cardboard. When using a tarp with a truck, both mesh and poly tarps can be used with different types of materials. When the transported materials can’t be exposed to water, such as asphalt, a poly tarp fully secured is ideal, while material that can be exposed to some water or moisture, such as gravel or sand, can be protected with a mesh tarp.
