09/27/2000 Env Bd Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Youth Category Scouts Drive Litter From Topeka Highway Continued from previous page materials about litter creation. Busi- nesses along the corridor received fly- ers outlining the need to encourage environmentally responsible actions from customers and employees, to support the participants, to complete an awareness checklist to review their solid -waste handling policies, and to spread the word. We placed signs along the route dur- ing the cleanup phase, alerting motor- ists to the volunteers on the roadside and informing them about the program. The nightly news also helped in relay- ing the need for responsible behavior. Teamwork to Clean Up This project was based on a partner- ship between Scouts and local busi- nesses. Our business partners includ- �de Keep America Beautiful- Topeka/ hawnee County; FastSigns, who pro- vided 15 double -sided signs to post along the road for safety and aware- ness; TFMComm, Inc., who lent two - way radios; the media, who helped spread the word; and local police, who ensured safety. We needed the cooperation of these groups because of the chal- lenges posed by the project. Safety was a real concern. Wanamaker Road is Topeka's busiest street with the high- est number of reported accidents, no shoulder, four lanes of traffic at 40 MPH, and zillions of entrances. Our target area of two miles also was a long stretch, with a lot of litter. But after three months of preparation with local businesses and all involved, the proj- ect came off without a hitch. Ninety -two volunteers gave 267.5 hours of a cold morning to remove more than 100 bags of trash. Businesses pro- vided more than $1,200 worth of goods and services. The results were immedi- ate. Businesses turned around from being not very interested in this proj- ect to developing a sense of ownership and volunteering for the next cleanup. The community discussions have moved from complaints about the litter to dis- cussions of possible solutions. Safety was a real concern when scouts decided to clean up Topeka's .busiest high-r?, way, but signs, two- way radios, and safety gear solved the problem. Not - for - profit Category Knoxville Spies on Litter By Tom Salter Keep Knoxville Beautiful (KKB) is a non -profit organization gov- erned by a volunteer board of directors. Our mission is to promote a cleaner, greener, more beautiful com- munity. Our traditional spring cleanup attracted a lot of litter cleanup volun- teers, but in 1999 we wanted to use the popularity of this event to raise aware- ness that: (1) litter comes from several sources, not just teenage motorists, or other limited perceptions; (2) it often is caused by mishandling waste, not just by fast -food and convenience store customers; and (3) litter can be pre- vented by covering vehicle loads, and using trash cans and other proper means of storing, transporting, and dis- posing of solid waste. We also incorpo- rated the seven sources of litter as defined by Keeping America Beautiful in all of our printed material speeches and our Web site. Extensive Cleanup Plans In an eight -week period, we ran a num- ber of programs as part of the local Great American Cleanup. I Spy on Litter is a telephone hotline for citizens to report littering. After a citizen makes a report, KKB writes a letter to the litterbug, detailing the negative effects of littering and recom- mending litter - prevention practices. We recently added the I Spy program to our Web site (www.korrnekorg/KeepKnox). When a major corporation's driver was cited for littering, local TV news cov- ered the story, increasing the number of reports made on -line. Visitors to the site also receive litter prevention infor- mation that is not available through the telephone hotline. Our traditional neighborhood clean- up program involved more than 3,000 citizens from 93 neighborhoods, church- es, youth groups, and businesses. This year, they collected about 286,000 pounds of trash. These cleanups are held over an eight -week period. Litter research has shown that young males are frequent litterers. A local radio station targeting 18- to 35 -year- old males conducted a contest to win a 5!