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Hampton Clean
Commission and Coliseum Central
Partner to Raise Cigarette Litter Awareness at the
Power Plant of Hampton Roads
Pictured Left: Volunteers from Hampton
Clean City Commission,
crewmembers from the Mesa Verde (US Navy Ship), Coliseum Central and
the Clean Hampton Teens helped conduct the cigarette litter scan
and pick-up at the Power Plant of Hampton Roads.
With the support of Coliseum Central,
Hampton Clean City Commission has launched a pilot program at the
Power Plant of Hampton Roads in hopes to raise awareness about
cigarette litter. To kick this cigarette litter awareness initiative,
a cigarette litter scan and pick up was conducted recently as a
benchmark for this pilot program. Volunteers from Hampton
Clean City Commission, crewmembers from the Mesa Verde (US Navy Ship),
Coliseum Central and the Clean Hampton Teens helped conduct the
cigarette litter scan and pick-up. They collected over 4,000 pieces of
cigarette litter from the parking lot, along the roadways and
sidewalks, and the boardwalk of the Power Plant. This pilot program,
which is based on Keep America Beautiful's Cigarette Litter Prevention
Program, will be
a two month long campaign. During those two months participating
businesses at the Power Plant will distribute pocket ashtrays,
informational brochures on cigarette litter and display posters with
messages about cigarette litter.
What is Cigarette Litter? Cigarette litter includes partially smoked
cigarettes, matches, disposable lighters, packaging as well as
cigarette butts. Cigarette litter makes up 20% of the litter collected
during many community clean up initiatives and cigarette butts
also create a threat to the environment, as they are not fully
degradable. It has been proven that an individual who would never
litter a beverage can or fast food packaging, wouldn't think twice
about throwing a cigarette butt on the ground.
Keep America Beautiful launched its three-year Cigarette Litter
Prevention Program in 2002 after identifying cigarette litter
[cigarettes, packaging and lighting material] as the most littered
items found in cleanups around the country.
www.kab.org
For
more information on how you can get involved, contact the Hampton
Clean City Commission!
Hampton Clean City Commission
http://www.hampton.gov/hccc/
22 Lincoln Road
Hampton, VA 23669
(757) 727-6776
Debbie Blanton, Clean Coordinator |
