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Orange circle with white letters saying "Cigarette Litter Prevention Program" and a drawing of a lit cigarette

Friends of Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office Awarded $1,000

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Orange circle with white letters saying "Cigarette Litter Prevention Program" and a drawing of a lit cigaretteFriends of Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office in Spotsylvania is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant in the Cigarette Litter Prevention and Recycling category as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 15th Annual Green Grants program.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address an environmental concern in their community. Grants must focus on one of the following priorities: Litter Prevention, Recycling & Waste Reduction, Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling, or Community Beautification.

The Friends of Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office Community Policing was established in 2018 as a nonprofit to support community projects and efforts, such as Blue Christmas, DARE program and DARE day, as well as any new programs that alleviate the financial burden that a community outreach program requires.

The focus of the Friends of Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office’s Green Grant efforts is to identify and target the hot zones known as dumping grounds, clean up the location, and then observe the area in hopes of catching the cause of the problem.  Grant funds will be used to purchase cigarette butt urns for proper disposal of cigarette butts.

Local businesses, churches, schools, clubs, and organizations will be involved to clean up and also educate, so that others are made aware of the importance of taking the step to prevent litter.  They believe that everyone plays a role, and each citizen can assist in keeping his and her community a safe and clean place to live.  Key messaging will include:

  • Don’t be the problem, don’t litter;
  • Use trash cans for litter and cigarette butt receptacles for extinguished cigarette butts;
  • Get everyone involved. The Friends of Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office will work with the county public works and parks and recs to spread the word to pick up litter when you see it.

These are plans that many organizations could also implement.  If you’d like to learn more about Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling, please see our webpage Cigarette Litter Prevention – Keep Virginia Beautiful or reach out to [email protected] for more information about programs that are free and easy.

2024 Green Grants Award #16: Winchester Area Temporary Thermal Shelter

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Winchester Area Temporary Thermal Shelter logo with a drawing of hands holding a heartCongratulations to the Winchester Area Temporary Thermal Shelter (WATTS) for their $1,000 Green Grants award to improve Cigarette Litter Prevention at their facility!

WATTS began serving adult men and women whom other homeless organizations have refused shelter fourteen years ago. This Evening Shelter program is operated from November through March and primarily serves Winchester, Frederick, and Clarke Counties and secondly, surrounding Northern Virginia counties.

Beginning in 2020, WATTS added a new initiative, the Daytime Shelter program, consisting of Warming and Cooling Centers. They operate from December through March, July and August. Located at a church in the Winchester area, guests can get a reprieve from the harsh Virginia winter and summer temps and access the WATTS counseling staff that provides necessary resources and support to achieve self-sufficiency.

WATTS submitted a proposal for the Green Grants category of  Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP). The smoking area at the Daytime Shelter is used by smokers and by the counseling staff, to meet with guests.

Area near brick church building that will hold benches and cigarette butt receptaclesThe WATTS Daytime Shelters are a daytime, cold, and hot weather facility that operates when precipitation, wind, temperature, and wind chill or heat become dangerously extreme. Its primary goal is preventing death and injury from exposure to these weather conditions, reducing the population of homeless individuals who are left outside during extreme temperatures.  The program hopes that fewer urgent care or emergency room visits are required.  Its secondary goal is to connect individuals with transitional support to break the cycle of homelessness.  The estimated attendance for this year is 350 guests

The Cigarette Litter Prevention Program will give homeless individuals a place to go and sit, to enjoy being both indoors and outdoors– with no judgment. Often, they are discouraged from sitting in public parks and public buildings based solely on what they look like. Specifically, the outdoor smoking area at the WATTS Daytime Shelter will allow them space and time to reap the benefits of spending time in nature.

Grant funds will be used to purchase two Smoker’s Outpost receptacles to collect cigarette butts safely, and two six-foot outdoor park benches from Global Industrial to provide seating for smokers.

The project makes a big difference to the local homeless community for the 350 adult men and women attending the WATTS Daytime Shelters this year, as well as reducing the amount of cigarette butts left on the ground.  WATTS will start recycling cigarette butts with TerraCycle waste management company.

Thank you WATTS, for the work you’re doing in the community, and for caring about cigarette butt litter.  You can learn more about the free and easy recycling programs offered by TerraCycle here.

Person picking up litter

Apply for Green Gift Giveaways by October 15

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Person picking up litterWe hope that you’ve had time to get together with your family, friends, and community to make a positive impact with our LOVE VA campaign this Fall.  Would the use of a large dumpster spur your community into action?  Especially if you live in an area that has a problem with illegal dumping, and you want to be rid of that abandoned plaid couch or discarded construction debris from the creek.  Do you know the perfect place to install a pet waste station so that people have easy access to compostable pet waste bags while they’re walking their pooch?  We want to help with these and other challenges!

We’re giving away Green Gifts as part of our 70th Anniversary celebration that could be helpful to your neighborhood, business, or faith community cleanup efforts.

Need a dumpster to clean up large items?
Apply for the free use of a roll off dumpster delivered to your site.

Need recycling bins to corral recyclable items?
Apply for a set of six blue bins.

Need a cigarette litter receptacle to curb cigarette butt litter?
Apply for a of Cigarette Litter Prevention Package that includes cigarette butt receptacles for the wall, car, and pocket

Need a way to encourage pet owners to properly dispose of doggie doo?
Apply for a pet waste station to install in an area frequented by dog walkers.

Need to beautify a gathering space?
Apply for a Trex bench.

Here are some tips on planning a neighborhood, subdivision, or block cleanup:

  • Choose your location: decide which streets you’ll clean within the neighborhood, and consider adding safe main roads that are adjacent to the neighborhood, as well as any playgrounds or other areas of need.
  • Choose a date and get the word out: use any social media accounts your neighborhood shares, such as a neighborhood Facebook page or Nextdoor.com; have kids make posters to hang in public spaces, or to hand out.
  • Get volunteers: ask residents to chat with neighbors in next door households to encourage participation; get the kids and their friends involved in the event, they’ll be happier working together.
  • Ask volunteers to bring their own water bottles and buckets or trash bags.
  • Make arrangements for a way to properly dispose of litter and recycling that’s collected, and opt for a dumpster if your cleanup involves large items, such as removing tires from a creek or abandoned household goods.

On the day of the event:

  • Have bins or boxes out to collect recyclable items that are picked up during a litter cleanup.
  • Offer a “Leave One/Take One” table of usable items to swap.
  • Ask volunteers who aren’t able to participate in the cleanup activities to bring a carton of ice cream or topping and set up an ice cream sundae buffet at the end of the day to show your appreciation!

After the event:

  • Report your results to us! We collect data to learn about efforts being made across the state.
  • If you report your results during our LOVE VA Fall cleanup campaign (October 1 – November 15) you’ll be entered to win a prize!

Please know that the cleanup efforts you make DO matter.  Clean spaces often attract less litter and crime, and offer a more enjoyable place for wildlife and humans to visit.  Thank you for caring about the natural and scenic environment of Virginia!

 

City of Manassas Park, Virginia Logo

City of Manassas Park Awarded Green Grant

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City of Manassas Park, Virginia LogoThe City of Manassas Park is awarded a $500 Green Grant for their Cigarette Litter Prevention efforts, as part of our 13th Annual Green Grants Program.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address an environmental concern in their community. Grants must focus on one of the following priorities: Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification.

The City of Manassas Park, located just southwest of Washington, DC, has a newly built complex that includes City Hall, a public library, three restaurant spaces, and a plaza. Many residents and guests visit the plaza, and improperly discarded cigarette butts can be a problem if littered on the ground.

With funds provided by this grant award, they will purchase and install cigarette butt receptacles in the needed locations. After receptacles are installed, the City’s Public Works staff will remove the waste, weigh it and send it to Terracycle for recycling.

According to Keep America Beautiful’s 2020 nationwide Litter Study, cigarette butts account for 88% of litter 4″ or smaller.  Cigarette filters don’t break down naturally and will persist in our environment when littered. Removing this litter from our communities through organized cleanups is just the beginning of keeping cigarette butts out of our retail areas and waterways. After hosting a cleanup, collecting them at home, or with a cigarette receptacle, cigarettes butts can be sent to TerraCycle to be recycled using a free shipping label.   Want to learn more about recycling cigarette butts and other items?  Visit TerraCycle for more information.

Thank you Manassas Park, for tackling the cigarette butt litter problem!  We look forward to your results.

Become a Trash Trooper Logo

Clean Essex Committee Awarded Green Grant

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Become a Trash Trooper LogoClean Essex Committee is awarded a $500 Green Grant in Cigarette Litter Prevention to introduce and prove the efficacy of cigarette butt receptacles as part of our 13th Annual Green Grants Program.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address an environmental concern in their community.  Grants must focus on one of the following priorities:   Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification.

The Clean Essex Committee was created in 2019, led by the deputy Essex County administrator and made up of volunteers and County leaders. This committee has regularly held successful semi-annual countywide cleanups in Essex County. The goal of the Clean Essex Committee is to introduce a program which will clean Essex County grounds of cigarette butts.People wearing safety vests, picking up litter on the road

With funds provided by the Green Grants Program, the Clean Essex Committee will pilot an effort to reduce cigarette butt litter by purchasing and installing cigarette butt receptacles at the “transition point” entrances at County Offices and other areas identified.  They also aim to increase awareness of the harm caused by cigarette butt litter, and they will recycle the butts collected through a free recycling program offered by TerraCycle. The County offices are in the Town of Tappahannock where there is a significant opportunity for expanding the program.

Congratulations Clean Essex Committee, we appreciate the work you’re doing!

06-01-23 Social Music

Social Music LLC Awarded $1,000 Green Grant

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Social Music LLC is the opening act as the first award announced for the 2023 Green Grants! They will receive a $1,000 Green Grant in Cigarette Litter Prevention as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 13th Annual Green Grants Program. It’s the first of thirty grants that will be awarded in June.

Social Music LLC is a veteran-owned small business that coordinates one of the largest independent music festivals in the United States promoting Ska music, which originates in Jamaica.   The location of their first summer event will be the Supernova Ska Festival at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia.  They’re keenly aware of the impact that a large crowd attending the music festival can have on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

They will use Green Grants funds to purchase cigarette butt receptacles for their “Keep Our Festival Butt-free” event. They’ll also partner with the Hampton Clean City Commission to provide volunteers to make the festival a litter-free event, in part by providing water bottle refill stations to guests and serving beer in cans instead of plastic cups.  The goal of Social Music LLC is for guests to understand their commitment to the environment and be a partner in keeping it clean.

Fort Monroe Authority is a non-profit partner who has agreed to provide year-round storage of the cigarette butt receptacles, which will be used for other events after the music festival.  Volunteers will clean up the park before and during the event.  They’ll collect cigarettes butts in the park and will promote the importance of recycling cigarette butts through the TerraCycle program.

Each year Social Music LLC hopes to reduce our festival impact on our community and the natural environment surrounding the SuperNova Festival.  They anticipate that guests will understand their commitment to the environment and be a partner in keeping it clean.

We’ll continue to announce the 2023 Green Grants Awards, one each day during the month of June!

Logo for City of Newport News

City of Newport News Awarded $1,000 Green Grant

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Logo for City of Newport NewsTo help educate citizens about the negative effects of cigarette butt litter, the City of Newport News has been awarded a $1,000 grant as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 12th Annual Green Grants Program.

Newport News has an existing city-wide cigarette waste receptacle program called #NoButtsAboutIt that includes education about the hazards of cigarette litter, the need to keep butts out of waterways, and that proper cigarette disposal can create better curb appeal for homeowners and businesses.

Grant funds will be used to purchase cigarette butt receptacles that will be placed in areas where people are most likely to toss a cigarette butt on the ground or in the landscape when entering a building, such as at recreation centers, apartment buildings, subdivision community/club houses, hotels and motels. The receptacles are placed in areas to cater to the residents and visitors of Newport News. Priority will be given to those that may not have resources or the budget for proper cigarette butt disposal materials.

Information about how to recycle butts through a free program offered by TerraCycle is also promoted.  Their Cigarette Waste Recycling Program easy is free and easy for anyone to participate in.

We applaud the City of Newport News for tackling the #1 most littered item in the world – cigarette butts – and wish them great success with their program!

County Logo

Dickenson County Chamber Awarded $1,000

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The Dickenson County Chamber of Commerce in Clintwood supports the local business community and assists them in finding resources to help them prosper.  They know first-hand that cigarette butt litter can have a negative impact on businesses, as well as residents and visitors.  They were aware that their litter control staff is constantly picking up cigarette butts in the parking lots and other places in the county.

Members of the Chamber identified several places where cigarette butt litter is found daily.  In those areas without a receptacle nearby to properly dispose of cigarette butts, there was cigarette butts littered on the ground, in flower beds, and in the bushes.  They felt if they could get some cigarette receptacles to place at selected business locations and at park entrances and trailheads, they would see a reduction in the number of butts being littered.

With funds provided by the Green Grants Program of Keep Virginia Beautiful, they will install 15 receptacles throughout the county at places where they found a large number of cigarette butts. They will also purchase pocket ashtrays to hand out to adult smokers at the Chamber Business Appreciation Cookout and the 4th of July Celebration.County Logo

The litter control personnel will help with counting the trailhead and parks collection before and after the receptacles are installed to determine the improvement that the cigarette butt receptacles have made with the cigarette litter problem.

Thank you Dickenson County Chamber for tackling the most littered item in the world!

Logo for Clean Sweep

$1,000 Green Grant Goes to Frederick County

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Logo for Clean SweepTo help educate its citizens about the negative consequences of cigarette butt litter and to provide a solution for their around the locality’s library, Frederick County is being announced as a $1,000 grant in the Litter Prevention category of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 12th Annual Green Grants Program.

The new project builds upon the success of the county’s existing “Clean Sweep” litter abatement program that utilizes trustees from the regional jail twice a week to clear roadways of unsightly litter.

The Green Grant Litter Prevention project will focus on a walking trail that was constructed along the lake on the grounds of the county’s Handley Regional Library.  The trail is a welcome addition to the library grounds and provides a safe area for recreation.  It includes story boards along the scenic trails. However, due to the added number of visitors, there has been a noticeable increase in cigarette butt litter. At this time, there are no receptacles for butts on the grounds or along the trail.

Placing cigarette butt receptacles along the trail will give smokers an opportunity to properly dispose of their cigarette butt litter.  The goal of the project is to see a significant decrease in the number of cigarette butts tossed on the grounds, along the trail, and near the lake each month.

Printed materials posted inside the library’s lobby, in message centers at convenience sites located across the county, as well as posts on the county’s website and Facebook pages will raise awareness that cigarette butts, though small, are still litter, costly to clean up, and harm the environment. Information on cigarette butt litter will also be where hits can be measured.

Because cigarette butts are the most littered item in the state – and in the world! – we appreciate Frederick Counties’ efforts and look forward to the results!

Midnight on a watch face

Time to Say Goodbye to 2020!

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Yes, there were many things that did not happen during this strange COVID year of 2020.  But we’re happy to say that for our organization, some very important things did take place.

We heard from many of our Adopt-a-Highway permit holders who continue to be Highway Heroes as they clean up litter from miles and miles highway.  While some were groups were challenged by the restrictions of social distancing, some are families that have adopted a road near their residence and were able to pick up litter more often while working from home.  Thank you, thank you, thank you permit holders!  (Learn more about adopting a highway – it’s free and easy to do!)

With the support of our sponsors, Altria, Coca-Cola, and Keep America Beautiful, we were able to continue with our tenth year of our 30 in 30 Green Grants program.  We awarded thirty grants to groups all across the Commonwealth (check out the map to see where they are!), and they’ve done powerful things for their communities.

To highlight just a few results from the Green Grants awards, Augusta County Litter Control Program cleaned up 30 miles of roadway, picking up 116 bags of litter!  Tech for Troops received over 6,000 desktops, monitors, electronic parts and other electronics that were sorted and recycled responsibly.  Halifax County Quality of Place Work Group distributed 348 reusable produce bags at their farmer’s market.  And Friends of Bryan Park installed five recycling bins in areas of the park that were most likely to have cans and bottles in their trash receptacles.  You can read more about all of the Green Grants projects.

Our state Affiliates have also had many accomplishments during 2020.  Keep Chesapeake Beautiful was able to install 24 outdoor cigarette butt receptacles at their City Hall Complex.  That ought to reduce cigarette butt litter!  And the Hampton Clean City Commission hosted a coastal cleanup in November that cleaned up 53 miles, resulting in 783 pounds of litter and debris being removed from the streets, shorelines, and water – wow!  Learn more about all of our Affiliates here.

So there were some good things happening in 2020, and we’re grateful to all who are out there cleaning up and caring about the natural and scenic environment of Virginia.  We’re looking forward to more good things in 2021!