The Butt Stops Here!
Keep Norfolk Beautiful (KNB), in
partnership with the City of Norfolk, local merchants and civic
organizations, will launch a new program this week to reduce cigarette
litter at two of Norfolk�s busiest shopping/entertainment districts.
Norfolk is one of 28 cities chosen to participate in the launch of
Keep America Beautiful's national Cigarette Litter Prevention Program.
The program will kick off September 1st at with a brief ceremony at
Noon at the entrance to Granby Mall. Events include the installment of
new cigarette litter receptacles, distribution of pocket ashtrays and
special prize giveaways to smokers caught doing the right thing with
their cigarette waste. Council member Barclay Winn, KNB Chair Jim
English, and Wards Corner Business Association Chair Brad Robinson
will each say a few words and help with the receptacle placement.
Utilizing three years of research conducted in 15 other cities by Keep
America Beautiful, the program will include enforcement of existing
litter laws and increasing awareness among employees and patrons
through public service messages and visual reminders in local stores
using the slogan, �The Butt Stops Here.�
Norfolk has been chosen for three reasons, according to Keep America
Beautiful Program Director Carrie Gallagher Sussman: the exemplary
programs and leadership of Keep Norfolk Beautiful; Keep America
Beautiful�s goal of involving a community in this region of the
country; and local business and community leadership, all of whom
value the attention that will be given to this particular aspect of
Keep America Beautiful's effort to educate communities about litter
prevention.
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. The program�s national
launch in Norfolk involves a multi-dimensional approach to noticeably
reducing cigarette litter.
Norfolk became a Keep America Beautiful affiliate in 1979, and enjoys
the ongoing support of the City of Norfolk.
�Cigarette litter is definitely a growing problem for our community,�
said John Keifer, Director of Public Works. �I support the program in
Norfolk. We are encouraging business and property owners in the pilot
neighborhoods in Wards Corner and along Granby Street in Downtown to
become involved in launching the program.�
Jim English, chair of the Norfolk Environmental Commission, is heading
up the project. �I am thrilled to have this opportunity for my own
city to launch the national program,� said English. �Working directly
with Keep America Beautiful will give Norfolk great visibility as one
of only 28 cities chosen for this national launch.�
A similar program will soon be launched in Downtown Norfolk. The local
results in Norfolk�s Ward�s Corner and Downtown will provide data to
Keep America Beautiful on the effectiveness of the nationally designed
program. Local results will provide information needed to rollout the
program throughout Norfolk.
Keep Norfolk Beautiful
Ernie Morgan Environmental Action Center
3500-A Granby St.
Norfolk, VA 23504
(757) 441-1347/ Fax (757) 441-5285
John Deuel, Executive Director
Contact: Holly Carson
Environmental Educator
(757) 441-1347
[email protected] |
