2024 Green Grants Award #8: Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office is awarded $1,000

Congratulations to the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office for their $1,000 Green Grant award for Cigarette Litter Prevention!

The Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office, in Northern Virginia, strives to bring community policing to the forefront with educational efforts, events, and crime preventative measures.  Within the boundaries of Spotsylvania County is the scenic beauty of Lake Anna.  The Marine Patrol Unit patrols any body of water within the County and is responsible for the enforcement of boating laws of Virginia.

The Spotsylvania Sheriff Office is working on two campaigns this year tied to safety awareness at Lake Anna. During both campaigns, officers will be approaching boaters, swimmers, and fisherman on the land and water. Part of their efforts during the campaigns will include reminding them not to litter, including the discarding of cigarette butts, and directing these individuals to the nearest trash cans and cigarette receptacles.

Funding from their Green Grants award will be used to purchase several stand-alone cigarette receptacles, boat ashtrays, and pocket ashtrays. The Sheriff’s Office will work with local marinas and other sites on or near the water to make sure that they have these receptacles and signage in place to encourage proper disposal of cigarette butts. The local marinas look forward to receiving the receptacles, and agree to empty and maintain the urns on their property.

Cigarette butts are recyclable, so the Sheriff’s Office will participate in the free cigarette butt recycling program offered through TerraCycle.  You can learn more about the free and easy recycling programs offered by TerraCycle here.

Because the Sheriff’s Office routinely patrols the waters of Lake Anna, this is a way they feel they can give back to the community — by helping them control litter and cigarette butt litter. Thank you, Sheriff, for caring about the cigarette butt litter, the number one most littered item in the world!