Starting in 2012 I have been collecting Roadside litter from a section of route 608 in Greensville County VA near the Boars Head Plant. In Dec 2015 I asked Linwood Pope to facilitate VDOT installing no litter signs on roadside in front of my two properties-completed. I asked VA to installed adopt a highway signs along same stretch completed. I have been collecting Roadside litter solo along this Stretch since 2012. I purchased a 16 acre farm there in 2011 and hauled out 5 pickup loads of litter before rehabilitation of the property by planting 10k pine seedlings. THE 9 BAGS IN THIS PIC ARE FROM 4 hours OF SOLO ROADSIDE LITTER COLLECTION in that hihway stretch on Dec 3, 2016. People have told me this is a joke less effort. I disagree. One person taking action can make changes happen. I say lead by action to make our roadsides pristine!
Dec 11, 2016
10 more bags of roadside litter collected from half mile stretch of route 608 in Greensville County. This is part of 2 mile location I adopted in 2016 adjacent to Boars Head plant. In two half days this month I collected 19 VDOT size bags of roadside litter. I want to get the word out that Roadside litter is no different from littearing ones own favorite vacation spot.
This is our Third Annual Shiver in the River, and it promises to be better than ever! Our first year, we had a huge group who helped with a community cleanup around the Richmond riverfront, and 150 braved the cold to make the James River Jump. Last year, we had a bigger cleanup (even with a recent snow still on the ground!), over 200 made the pledge to do the Jump, and over 350 participated in our new 5K Walk/Run! Combine all of this with food, music, beverages, and a chance to help us keep Virginia beautiful. It really is Central Virginia’s Coolest Winter Festival!
We recently walked the new route for our 5K, and it’s spectacular. It takes advantage of the best of the James River Park System and downtown Richmond, with a single loop exploring the riverfront, natural areas, historical sites, and the new T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge.
You don’t get a better view of the James and Richmond than that.
Head over to the Shiver in the River website to register for your favorite part of our festival. Do one or do all three. Come for the festivities! Pull together a team of your friends, neighbors, or coworkers to make your James River Jump a theme-filled affair!
We would also be remiss if we didn’t recognize Elizabeth Flint of Gloucester. She’s signed up for the 5K Walk/Run, and the James River Jump. She’s also our Early Bird Winner, and will have some lovely gifts to make her 2017 Shiver in the River memorable. January 28th. Enjoy our new video to get a taste of what’s to come!
1044.2 pounds of trash were weighed and recorded by 34 volunteers, one of whom discovered a live box turtle wedged in a panel of chain link fencing. We ended with a BBQ dinner and kayaking. Youth were awarded Habitat Hero certificates. Guest speaker Rand Milan, Master Tree Specialist, helped us to appreciate our local trees, and Daina Henry, DEQ citizen scientist, spoke about water quality testing where Quail Run empties into Lucas Creek
We think that every day should be a recycling day, but all of America throws its weight behind it to raise awareness on this day.
Rates of recycling have risen steadily since keeping things out of the landfill really starting becoming a thing. In 1980, we kept about 15 million tons of trash out of the dump. By 2013, that number had risen to almost 88 million tons of waste. That’s the most recent year that the EPA can accurately calculate, and it said Americans generated around 254 million tons of trash in 2013. Of that, we recycled or composted around 87.2 million tons of material. This was paper, glass, aluminum, electronic waste, and largely yard trimmings. This gave us a recycling rate of around 34.3%. Not too shabby, eh? Over a third!
One town that has really embraced recycling is Manassas. They’ve been crowing about recycling all month long. They even proclaimed November 5th “Manassas Recycles Day” to kick off “RecycleFest.” Residents stopped by to get rid of unwanted waste, which was recycled and kept from the landfill, and this year broke their record with 452 cars passing through in just four hours. The City of Manassas Boys & Girls Club had a fashion show, Project Recycle Runway, that turned old clothes from Savers™ into great fashionable new threads. They also teamed up with American Disposal to start a grant program for Home Owners Associations to expand community-based recycling projects.
We’ll do our part on Friday, November 18th. We’ll join the Retail Merchants Association on Monument Avenue in Richmond to collect all of your recycling from 10-2.
Lastly, the kids in the Osbourn High School Ecology Club made a video to compel everyone to think a bit harder about the importance of finding a suitable spot for your litter, and recycling as much as possible. See their video below, and do your part to improve recycling!
34 volunteers collected, weighed and recorded 1044.2 pounds of litter, including a foam bed mattress from Quail Run, two lawnmowers, and a chain link fence with a live box turtle stuck in it. A middle school volunteer found it and released it into Quail Run. We celebrated with a BBQ dinner and kayaking. Youth were awarded Habitat Hero certificates. Guest speaker Rand Milan, Master Tree Specialist, helped us to appreciate our local trees, and Daina Henry, DEQ citizen scientist, spoke about water quality testing where Quail Run empties into Lucas Creek
You may have heard that we’ve thrown the gauntlet. We challenge each Virginian to accept our #OneBagofTrashVa Challenge! It’s much like the Ice Bucket Challenge, and you can learn more about it here. We’ve already had a few of you step up, and we saw tons of volunteers doing their part at the Richmond Folk Festival (We were there. It was muddy. We handed out lots of pocket ashtrays, the music was phenomenal, and the volunteers extraordinary). One of the first to step up to the plate was our Governor, Terry McAuliffe and our First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe. The First Lady is no stranger to our cleanups, but it was nice to see the Governor do his part.
Our Executive Director, Michael Baum, recently returned from a trip to Virginia State University. They were a Thirty in 30 Grant winner, and coupled with a grant from Home Depot, they’re making some cool environmental changes to their campus. We’ll let them explain:
“Our project enlisted student, faculty and staff volunteers to conduct a service day that will remove cigarette litter, trash and contaminants from campus storm drainage structures. The desire is to educate students and staff on basic stormwater management, and demonstrate the cumulative effect on water quality of discarding litter, particularly discarded cigarettes. Over the past 5 years, 19 small bio-retention storm water structures called filterras were installed on campus. Storm runoff water passes through the filterra and is treated before being discharged into streams and rivers surrounding campus. Because discarded cigarettes are lightweight and easily conveyed by surface runoff, they collect in abundance in these structures reducing their capacity to filter contaminants and improve water quality. Each of the filterras will undergo inspection, removal of cigarette litter and other debris, and mulch replacement. The result will be 19 fully functioning bio-retention structures operating at design efficiency.”
And a reminder – now is the time to register for Shiver in the River. It’s not until January 28th, but registering early will net you a chance to win a nifty Early Bird package. There’s plenty of space and plenty to do. And there’s certainly room if you wish to help sponsor Central Virginia’s Coolest Winter Festival.
