News and Issues:

San Francisco reaches 72% recycling rate!

Source: Resource Recycling Electronic Newsletter: SF generated 2,100,943 tons of waste in 2007. Of this only 617,833 tons went to the landfill. This is the lowest disposal rate since 1977. This makes SF the highest recycler in the United States. The increased recyling rate is attributable to the 2006 Construction and Demolition Debris Recovery Ordnance. In 1996 SF was recycling at a 35% rate. This is about the rate of recycling in Lynchburg. Do you think we will ever make it to the 50% rate?

Who is responsible for our trashy highways?

In a News and Advance letter to the editor published recently, the writer noted how disgusted he was at the amount of litter he sees lining the state's roads and highways. He believes that the "primary culprit" is the vehicles that haul and transport trash, suggests that our state's leadership in Richmond should also take a proactive role in identifying litter sources and finding ways to tackle this "growing statewide problem". In a later opinion article published by the News and Advance, a different writer responded to the earlier letter by stating that we should not depend on the city or especially those in our capital to do anything to alleviate this problem. She states that Virginia imports more garbage from other states than any other state in our country, and our policy makers are not going to lose that extra income. She goes on and challenges us to help create less garbage, recycle and reuse more items, and buy organic foods. She states that the real problem lies with huge factories that pollute our water and air and degrade our land when extracting coal and minerals, deforestation for urban sprawl, and over-fishing of our oceans and marshes. She ends her article by encouraging us to individually make a positive impact.

So what are the facts? To help answer the question, the Department of Environmental Quality hired Siddal, Miatus & Coughter, Inc. to develop an anti-litter campaign. Qualitative audience research was conducted in the Fall of 2001. The research consisted of a series of one-on-one interviews with young men (age 18-35), representing urban and rural Virginia residents. This audience was determined by litter prevention experts in Virginia to be most likely to litter. The research shows that the most compelling anti-litter messages pertain to the injury or harm that litter causes to innocent life especially wildlife, children and the environment. With that the consultant developed the theme: °Litter. It just isn't natural". Communication materials designed and produced for the campaign demonstrate the impact of litter on wildlife to convey the importance of litter prevention for all Virginians. TV and radio public service announcements were produced for distribution to local radio and TV stations by the local litter prevention programs. Artwork for the logo and poster were produced.

The goal of the campaign was to raise awareness about littering and its harmful impacts on living things so that people would think and care enough about litter that they would not do it. The key messages for the statewide litter prevention campaign were:

• Litter isn't natural. It's an illegal, preventable environmental problem in Virginia that hurts innocent people and wildlife.
• Litter is a safety hazard. It is a breeding ground for fire and disease. Ingesting litter causes or death to thousands of pets, wild and farm animals.
• Litter is a breeding ground for rats and disease-causing bacteria.
• Litter causes injury and accidents to people, especially on our highways, beaches, waterways, and recreational areas.
• Litter won't go away unless each of us takes responsibility to not litter.
• Litterbugs are everywhere. Even the best intentioned of us litter mainly because we don't think about it, or believe someone else will pick it up for us.
• Some things each of us can do:
• *Set an example for others by not littering.
• *Carry a litter bag in your car to collect trash and litter.
• *Cover and secure any vehicle, truck or trailer carrying a load.
• *At recreational areas, make sure to leave the area clean for the next person to enjoy.
• *Securely cover trash containers to prevent wind or animals from spreading litter.
• *Recognize that cigarette butts are a dangerous, toxic form of pollution taking up to 12 years to break down.
• *Get a group together to voluntarily clean up litter in your community.
• *Adopt an area or highway for litter cleanup.
• *Work with local programs to pickup litter and educate others about litter.
• Think about who you are hurting when you litter, and then don't do it.
• Litter affects everyone, destroying the beauty and quality of their community.
• Litter discourages economic development. It impacts real estate values. Good stores and important businesses will not locate in a community that lacks the pride to effectively control litter. Visitors and tourists will avoid communities that are polluted with litter.
• Litter is a safety hazard.
• Litter lasts forever. Plastic bottles and styrofoam last indefinitely. Aluminum cans and caps break down in 500 years. Even paper takes 5 years.

How bad a problem is litter in Virginia?

There is no current comprehensive, scientific data on either the amount or cost of litter in Virginia. However, the empirical evidence gathered by the thousands of volunteers and professionals who work to prevent and clean up litter across the state shows that is a growing problem Wildlife experts report increasing incidents of animals being injured or killed by litter. Localities are experiencing increasing costs and efforts by volunteers to pick up litter. VDOT alone spends more than $7 million annually to pick-up litter along the roadways it serves.

Who is littering?

Most people litter in some circumstances, but there are some variations:

• People under the age of 15 are least likely to litter.*
• People under the age of 25 are most likely to litter when in a group, people over 25 are most likely to litter when alone.*
• People aged 15-24 have a slightly higher than average rate of littering than other adults.*
• Anecdotal evidence from Virginia local litter prevention programs is that young men tend to litter more than others, often littering from their vehicles.

Why do they litter?

• To hide trash, such as alcoholic beverage containers and cigarette butts and packaging.
• Laziness. They think someone else will pick it up. Or they're not willing to look for a bin or carry a litterbag in their cars.
• They're not aware that the item is litter, such as cigarette butts, food scraps
• They are unaware that litter is an environmental, pollution problem that hurts people, animals and plants.
• They litter because an area is already littered so it doesn't matter.
• They are unaware they are littering, e.g.trash blowing out of the back of trucks or windows
• Absence of consistent legal enforcement.

What are they littering?

Primarily cigarette butts, fast food packaging, glass bottles and cans, plastic bottles and containers (some filled with toxic substances like antifreeze), and plastic bags.

Citizens for a Clean Lynchburg, P. O. Box 1072, Lynchburg, VA 24505; phone: (434) 528-2366