In honor of Earth Month, Keep Virginia Beautiful (KVB) is awarding “30 Grants In 30 Days” in April, 2011. Fredericksburg Clean and Green has been awarded a $1,000 grant in the Cigarette Litter Prevention Category. The KVB grant program focuses greater resources and attention on individual localities throughout the Commonwealth and how they are addressing the issues of litter prevention, recycling, waste reduction, beautification and education.
KVB provided the opportunity for government, non-profit and/or service organizations in Virginia to apply for one of (30) $1,000 grants in three different categories: 10 grants for plastic bag reduction and recycling, 10 grants for cigarette litter prevention, and 10 grants for community greening and beautification. This grant campaign is made possible by KVB, Walmart, and Waste Management.
Fredericksburg Clean and Green Committee (FCGC) will establish a comprehensive cigarette litter prevention campaign by distributing pocket ashtrays to adult smokers along with installing cigarette butt receptacles in high traffic areas of Fredericksburg. FCGC will work with the Fredericksburg Public Works Department, Downtown Retail Merchants Association and many other civic groups to establish a long lasting litter prevention program for the residents and merchants of Fredericksburg. For information on Fredericksburg Clean and Green and their project, contact Anne Little, [email protected] or (540) 207-4298.
The mission at Keep Virginia Beautiful is to engage and unite Virginians to improve our natural and scenic environment. Our goals include becoming the leading statewide voice, providing a framework for improved communication and collaboration, cultivating and supporting sustainable programs, and engaging citizens by linking them to volunteer opportunities and information through these 5 impact areas: Litter Prevention, Waste Reduction, Recycling, Beautification, and Environmental Education.
In honor of Earth Month, Keep Virginia Beautiful (KVB) is announcing the 30 Grants In 30 Days campaign. This grant campaign is co-sponsored by KVB, Walmart, and Waste Management.
We are proud to provide the opportunity for organizations in Virginia to apply for one of (30) $1000 grants to be awarded during the 30 days of April, 2011. This grant program will focus greater resources and attention on individual localities throughout the Commonwealth and how they are addressing the issues of litter prevention, recycling, waste reduction, beautification and education.
1. Cigarette Litter Prevention
Ten (10) $1,000 grants to ten separate government or non-profit entities that implement programs within targeted geographic boundaries in Virginia to reduce cigarette litter. Funding would support educational outreach materials, cigarette litter receptacles, and portable ash trays for adult smokers. The purpose of these grants is to support sustainable prevention and a measurable reduction of cigarette litter within the predetermined geographic boundaries.
2. Plastic Shopping Bag Litter Prevention and Recycling
Ten (10) $1,000 grants to ten separate government or non-profit entities that implement programs within targeted geographic boundaries in Virginia to reduce plastic bag waste and litter. Funding would support increasing plastic bag collection sites, education of consumers, and distribution of reusable shopping bags to consumers. The purpose of these grants is to support sustainable prevention, promote a measureable waste reduction and a measureable increase in reuse and recycling of plastic bags within the predetermined geographic boundaries.
3. Beautification and Community Greening
Ten (10) $1,000 grants to ten separate government or non-profit entities within targeted geographic boundaries in Virginia which support programs that beautify and clean including community gardens, restoring vacant lots, highway and shoreline enhancement, plantings, and graffiti abatement. Funding would support community clean-ups, revitalization projects, and sustainable neighborhood gardens. The purpose of these grants is to support beautification efforts within the predetermined geographic boundaries.
Process for Submission
Grant nominations will be accepted online beginning on February 1, 2011 with a deadline of March 15, 2011. A panel of judges will review submissions and award grants for winning applicants in each of the three categories. Grant programs selected must be completed by the end of 2011.
Winning applicants will be notified one week prior to award date. All remaining applicants will be notified by April 30, 2011. Applicants who are selected will receive funding by May 5, 2011.
“A Bag’s Life” Creates Buzz at America Recycles Day at VA Capitol
(Richmond, VA) – Nov. 15, 2010 – A statewide plastic bag recycling awareness campaign in Virginia called A Bag’s Life, which includes an interactive and educational website (www.abagslife.com/VA), mobile app with nearly 800 drop-off sites by zip code, and video contest was launched today during America Recycles Day at the Capitol. Keep Virginia Beautiful (KVB),Virginia Retail Federation (VRF), Virginia Recycling Association (VRA), American Chemistry Council (ACC), VA Department of Environmental Quality, and the Office of the Secretary of Natural Resources were among those in the public-private partnership who kicked off the program.
A Bag’s Life, through quirky messaging like “Don’t treat me like trash,” and “Gimme a second chance,” encourages Virginians to reduce, recycle and reuse their free grocery bags. It also reminds consumers that other bags like those used for dry cleaning, newspapers and bread, as well as wraps used on products like paper towels or bottled water also can be dropped off at many retailers for recycling.
“America Recycles Day has been set aside as a day when we individually pledge to take extra steps to reduce waste and make recycling work at home and in our communities,” said Mike Baum, executive director of Keep Virginia Beautiful. “By taking the extra time to bring grocery bags back to the store to be recycled, people are giving that bag a second chance to be made into something else like outdoor decking, park benches, or even new bags. It’s a simple earth-friendly practice that can yield tremendous results.”
Margaret Ballard, vice president, Advocacy for the Virginia Retail Federation, noted that while plastic bag recycling programs are not new to Virginia, a statewide educational initiative that partners public and private groups toward the common goal of recycling plastic bags is unique. The VRF was instrumental in obtaining state funding for the first Plastic Bag Recycling project in the state — in Isle of Wight County. Isle be Green was kicked off in September 2009, and to date more than 1 million plastic bags have been recycled in the county. Nationwide, plastic bag recycling is on the rise, with more than 832 million pounds recycled in 2008.
“Retailers across Virginia are well aware of the impact plastic bag litter has on our roadways and agricultural environment in Virginia,” said Margaret Ballard, vice president, Advocacy, Virginia Retail Federation. “That’s why nearly 800 retail stores are offering their locations to consumers as drop-off sites to recycle these bags. Recycling not only helps clean up plastic bag litter, but supports economic resources for our Virginia-based partners like Trex, the Winchester-based manufacturer of plastic building materials.”
Trex joined in the A Bag’s Life Virginia launch, as well as Hilex Poly, a plastic bag manufacturer with facilities in Richmond.
A Bag’s Life also includes a video contest and social networking element to fire up support for recycling. The easy to use recycle location finder lists the nearest drop-off points and the Google Maps option makes recycling plastic bags and wraps easier than ever before. The plastic bag icon on the website is designed to take on a life of its own, smiling when it’s happy, frowning when it’s not. Website copy suggests that individuals should step up and do their part to address litter and waste rather than blame the bag if it’s not being recycled or reused.
About A Bag’s Life in Virginia
A Bag’s Life is a public educational campaign that unites non-profits, business, community and government organizations around the common goal of promoting the three R’s as they relate to plastic bags — reduce, reuse and recycle. Partners include: Keep Virginia Beautiful, the Department of Environmental Quality, Virginia Retail Federation, Virginia Recycling Association, Trex and the American Chemistry Council. For more information visit www.abagslife.com/VA
Each new year, we all make our resolutions. What’s yours? My goal is to clean up a little bit of Virginia every day. Pick up trash. Recycle more. Sweep up public areas when I can, etc. How are you going to help?
How will you give Mother Nature a little love in 2011? The time is now. How can you help?
1. Cut down on trash
Estimates suggest that up to 90% of the contents of our bins could actually be reused or recycled. What could you reuse? What could you recycle? On average, American’s throw away about 3.5 pounds of trash each day! Yikes.
2. Cut down on pollution
According to The Daily Green Americans generate 30 billion foam cups, 220 million tires, and 1.8 billion disposable diapers every year. Did you really need to save 50 cents by buying the Styrofoam cups instead of the paper cups?
3. Cut down on water waste
Over the course of a year, we waste 4 gallons of water just by running the water while we brush our teeth! Some experts estimate that more than 50 percent of landscape water use goes to waste because of evaporation or runoff caused by over-watering.
4. Reduce electricity consumption
Refrigerators account for about 20 percent of household electricity use. If you set it on 37 degrees and your freezer as close to 3 degrees and you’ll cut that figure drastically. Another simple step…set your dishwasher to air dry rather than heat and you’ll save 20 percent of your dishwasher’s total electricity use.
5. Recycle
If every American household recycled just one out of every ten HDPE bottles they used, we’d keep 200 million pounds of the plastic out of landfills every year. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours. (EPA, 2008)
6. Buy eco friendly products
How many brown paper lunch bags do you and your kids use every year? And what about all of those little plastic sandwich and snack bags? How about replacing those with a one time purchase that will not end up in a landfill? Check out these Eco-Friendly Insulated Lunch Bags from GreenSmart. Or these super fun designs for your kids that have individual containers inside the lunch box from Obentec.
7. Give back to nature
Here’s an obvious way…plant a tree. But did you know that you can easily donate to a nature-related organization with your license plate purchase? Check out these license plates and choose a wildlife or environmental organization with a designated license plate. A donation is sent to that organization each year you renew the plates.
8. Buy local
It may seem like a no-brainer to many of you, but it’s easy to forget that shopping local, can benefit your impact on Mother Nature in numerous ways. Shopping locally will stimulate your local economy, however it also eliminates the need for fuel-guzzling transportation. An average fresh food item on our dinner table travels 1,500 miles to get there. Buying locally produced food eliminates the need for all that travel.
Local farmers are often less dependent on pesticides and insecticides and less likely to use nitrogen-based fertilizers in the overwhelming quantities that mass producers use. In other words, the environmental impacts of shopping locally will most definitely effect Mother Nature in the near and long-term.
9. Cut down on air pollution
We make choices everyday that can help reduce air pollution. Walk to work or drive? Paint with water-based paints verses oil or varnishes. Use a solid deodorant rather than an aerosol. I bet you can think of a few too….
10. Educate Others
Share what you learn along the path of living a greener life. Instill these values in your children, friends, family and colleagues.
One of our favorite partners, Keep America Beautiful, has a great guide for preventing litter in the workplace. The original page is here, but these are the takeaways:
Keep Virginia Beautiful, the Virginia Retail Federation and Governor Bob McDonnell’s administration united on November 15th to launch a litter prevention campaign specifically focused on reducing plastic bag waste. “Any type of litter is bad,” said Mike Baum, executive Director of KeepVirginia Beautiful, “it’s bad cosmetically and bad for the environment.” A Bag’s Life promotes recycling and reusing plastic bags. Plastic bags that are not recycled can take up landfill space, increase litter and cause environmental wildlife issues.
A Bag’s Life was announced in Richmond, Virginia at Capitol Square. State officials, businesspeople and local school children were present to kick off the campaign. Virginia residents can easily access a list of nearly 800 locations for plastic bag recycling drop off by visiting A Bag’s Life website.
In honor of Earth Month, Keep Virginia Beautiful (KVB) is awarding “30 Grants In 30 Days” in April, 2011. Fredericksburg Clean and Green has been awarded a $1,000 grant in the Cigarette Litter Prevention Category. The KVB grant program focuses greater resources and attention on individual localities throughout the Commonwealth and how they are addressing the issues of litter prevention, recycling, waste reduction, beautification and education.
