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Cigarette Litter Prevention

2024 Green Grants Award #22 Goes to The Town of St. Paul for $1,000

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Photograph of the Clinch River with trees and a blue skyCongratulations to the Town of St. Paul for their $1,000 Green Grants to tackle Cigarette Litter!

The Town of St. Paul is located within deep South West Virginia where the coalfields meet the bluegrass. As a Town of approximately 1,000 citizens, St. Paul offers the best small-town living in the heart of the Clinch River Valley. St. Paul is home of the Clinch River, which is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. They invite people to come and relax or to experience outdoor adventure through Spearhead Trails, Oxbow Lake, and the Clinch River State Park.

Last year, the Town purchased new cigarette butt receptacles to be placed at Downtown Businesses to address the cigarette butt litter that was being left on the ground and in the landscape. Some existing receptacles have broken apart and even caught on fire, which in turn discourages the public from using them to properly dispose of their cigarette butts.  Town staff members have seen an increase in cigarette litter around these receptacles since they are not functioning properly.

The plan for this year is to replace existing receptacles at the Town’s Pool, Oxbow Lake, A.R. Matthews Park, and Town Hall.  Town officials believe that these new receptacles will encourage citizens to properly dispose of their cigarette butt litter. Additionally, upgrading from plastic to metal receptacles would increase the lifespan and mitigate any additional fire damage.

Funds from the Green Grants award will be used to purchase five Metal Smoker’s Receptacles.

This project will encourage members of the public to use these new receptacles instead of ignoring the existing deteriorating ones. As a result, Town employees will spend less time picking up cigarette litter around the existing receptacles and can focus their efforts to cleaning up other portions of town. Additionally, fire related services would decline due to the existing receptacles not catching on fire.

With cigarette butts being the #1 most littered item in the Commonwealth (and the USA, and the world!) we appreciate the Town of St Paul’s willingness to take the effort to increase the availability of cigarette butt receptacles for their residents and visitors.

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

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Logo from Spotsylvania, VA Sheriff's OfficeCongratulations 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!

 

Green background with words Time is running out! Apply for a Green Grant before midnight, April 30; clock with legs running, KVB logo, tiny URL: https://tinyurl.com/2fxd59nf

$500 – $1,000 Grant Apply Through April 30

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Green background with words Time is running out! Apply for a Green Grant before midnight, April 30; clock with legs running, KVB logo, tiny URL: https://tinyurl.com/2fxd59nfWe know that YOU can do great things in your communities, and WE want to help!

We’re awarding $500, $750, and $1,000 Green Grants to groups to improve the natural and scenic environment of Virginia.  Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided $307,000 for 415 programs and projects throughout the state.  The program has been so successful because of the nonprofits, schools, faith-based organizations, civic leagues, “Friends of” groups, Scouts, and others who see a need where they live, and apply for a grant to get it accomplished.

You can apply for a Green Grant in any of the four categories:  Litter Prevention, Cigarette Litter Prevention, Community Beautification, and Recycling.  The applications are evaluated and scored by a panel of experts in their fields, and in June, one Green Grant award is announced one each day, until all thirty awards have been revealed.

The general Grant Application Guidelines should be read before an application is submitted. Click here to start a 2024 Green Grant Application.

Applications are due before midnight on Tuesday, April 30, 2024!

Here are some past awards for inspiration:

  • Friends of a city park installed cigarette butt receptacles in the parking lot and at entrances to the park, to eliminate cigarette butt litter that can clog storm drains and harm wildlife.
  • A church parish started a composting collection program, yielding an average of 50 pounds of food waste that would have been sent to the landfill, but is processed to create rich compost.
  • Classrooms at an elementary school are collecting markers and pens to be recycled through TerraCycle.
  • A neighborhood civic league used grant funds to purchase litter grabbers, safety vests, gloves, and florescent hats for the safety of volunteers during their roadside cleanups.
  • Invasive species were removed and native plants installed along a hiking trail.

Please see our Green Grants webpage for descriptions of the categories, read the general Grant Application Guidelines, and click here to start a 2024 Green Grant Application.

We are grateful to the sponsors of our 2024 Green Grants Program:  Altria, WestRock, and Village Bank!

Altria Logo        WestRock Logo             Logo for Village Bank

Man unloading a large dumpster

Free Use of a Dumpster for Your Cleanup

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Man unloading a large dumpsterWe’re still celebrating our 70th Anniversary of our organization with 35 Green Gifts for you!  We want to give you access to the tools needed to get out there and improve the natural and scenic environment of Virginia!

Sometimes you need more than buckets or trash bags to tackle large jobs.  We’re grateful for support from Dumpsters.com to help you tackle that project!  They will provide free delivery and use of a roll off dumpster, which is a large, open-top waste container.  The containers also have a swing door allows the user easier access to load large or heavy items from the ground, instead of throwing them in from the top.

Dumpsters are ideal for large projects, such as:

      • Items from illegal dumping sights
      • Trail clearing of large branches, debris, and invasive species
      • Clearing debris from an abandoned house

Please be mindful not to include items that can be repurposed, donated, or recycled, including cardboard or metal that may have scrap value, to keep those types of items out of the landfill.

If this sounds like something your group is ready to tackle, please apply for a Green Gift from Dumpsters.com before October 15, 2023.  Please see the guidelines on our website.

We have other Green Gifts were giving away too!

On the opposite side of large-scale cleanups is small – very small litter.  Did you know that nine out of ten pieces of litter on the ground in the U.S. were under four inches in size, and cigarette butts continue to be the single most littered item in America (Keep America Beautiful 2021 Litter Study).  In case you need to explain it to people who think that cigarette butts decompose, you can tell them that cigarette butt filters are made of cellulose acetate, a man-made plastic material that contains hundreds of toxic chemicals that are dangerous to wildlife and waterways.Cigarette Butt Cup Ashtray, Wall-mounted Receptacle, and Pouch

One other category of Green Gifts that we’re giving away is for those of you who are concerned about cigarette butt litter.  We’d like to help restaurants, businesses, libraries, municipalities, and others start a Cigarette Litter Prevention Program.  We will give away the needed supplies, including a mounted receptacle, 10 car cup ashtrays, and 50 pocket ashtrays, to encourage others to collect cigarette butts, along with our support for your program.

Then the next step after collecting them is to send the cigarette butts (at no cost) to TerraCycle, a company dedicated to recycling the hard-to-recycle items.  The process the cellulose acetate plastic in cigarette filters into pellets, and create new items, like sturdy benches for your public spaces.

If this sounds like something your group is ready to tackle, please apply for a Cigarette Litter Prevention  Green Gift before October 15, 2023.  Please see the guidelines on our website.

Page County Solid Waste Awarded $1,000 Green Grant

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Page County, Virginia, LogoPage County Solid Waste is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant for their Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, 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.

Page County is a small, rural county bordering the Shenandoah National Park with a population of 23,000 people. The Solid Waste department runs two landfills  and two citizen drop-off areas. They accept trash and recycling from three towns, county citizens, and surrounding counties.

Concerned about the amount of cigarette butts littered, they will launch a “No Butts About It” campaign in an effort to raise awareness and reduce cigarette butt litter.  With funds provided by the Green Grant award, the Solid Waste department of Page County will purchase cigarette butt receptacles to encourage proper disposal of cigarette litter.

With funds received from the Green Grant award, stationary receptacles will be purchased and placed at the county’s convenience sites, and mounted receptacles will be installed at community buildings.  They will also distribute auto ash trays at different events throughout the year, such as Earth Day, Ruritan talks, and a Hazardous Waste event.  As part of the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP), they will count cigarette butts collected in the targeted areas before the installation of the receptacles, and compare that to the number of butts found littered after the receptacles are in place.  ArcMate trash grabbers will also be purchased for the safety and convenience of those picking up the littered cigarette butts.  The data that is collected will be compared and analyzed to determine any patterns of littering behaviors.

Thank you Page County Solid Waste Department for addressing the problem of cigarette butt litter — the Number One most commonly littered item in the state!

Logo for the City of Newport News

City of Newport News Awarded $1,000 Green Grant

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The City of Newport News is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant for Cigarette Litter Prevention as part of our 13th Annual Green Grants Program!

Logo for the City of Newport NewsThe City of Newport News is located where the James River meets the Chesapeake Bay. The goal of the City of Newport News is to properly dispose of cigarette butts in their motels, so the cigarette litter does not get into their waterways.  Because all storm water drains lead to a body of water in the City of Newport News, when cigarette butts are littered on the ground, in parking lots, or tossed in bushes, the are swept away by rainwater into the storm drains, and into surrounding waterways.

The City of Newport News is home to eleven motels where the doors to the rooms face outside.  Most of the hotels have designated smoking rooms. By offering those motels wall-mounted cigarette receptacles for their smoking room, guests would be encouraged to smoke outside the hotel room and to properly dispose of their cigarette butts in the receptacles instead of littering them.

Funds provided by the Green Grant program will be used to purchase wall-mounted cigarette butt receptacles.  Participating hotel management will be asked to measure the amount of cigarette butts they have littered before and after the installation of the receptacles.  They expectation is that they will  have less cigarette butt litter on the ground, parking lots, and landscaping.

With cigarette litter being the Number One most littered item in the state, we applaud the City of Newport News for working to reduce cigarette butt litter and prevent it from traveling to our beautiful James River and Chesapeake Bay.

Three Green Grant Award Plaques on display

Green Grant Applications are Going… Going…

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If you’ve been thinking about applying for one of the thirty Green Grants that will be awarded, now’s the time to complete your application and submit it by April 30, 2023!

The online application form is short and simple!  Just tell us a little about your organization, your contact information, explain your project or program, tell us your budget, and state how you’ll measure your results!  You can request a grant that suits the size of your project for $500, $750, or $1,000.

  • Are you tired of cigarette butt litter in front of your business, library, or park?  Apply for a Cigarette Litter Prevention Program grant to get the supplies, tools, and information you need to combat the cigarette butt litter problem!
  • Did you take part in a cleanup during Earth Month, and need litter grabbers, vests, or other supplies for your group to conduct future cleanups?  Apply for a Litter Prevention grant!
  • Does your school need a water refill station to avoid single-use plastic bottles?  Or want to host a Community Fix-it Fair to repair people’s items instead of adding them to the landfill?   Apply for a Recycling grant!
  • Is there a vacant lot in your community that’s overgrown with invasive species and would be transformed into a public green space with some improvements?  Or an area that would benefit from painting over graffiti?  Then apply for a Community Beautification grant!

Here are some of last year’s awards, showing off the Keep Virginia Beautiful award plaques:

Student with recycling box in classroom“Everyone at North Branch School in Afton, from age 3 to adult, focused on recycling items they would normally put in the trash. We filled three zero waste boxes that hold a large variety of items, in addition to one box for pencils and markers.”Frederick County Green Grant Plaque Award

“Frederick County’s Clean Sweep/regional jail trustee crew enthusiastically canvassed the library’s trail around Bowman Library each month. During July 10,329 butts were collected; followed by 3,305 butts in August and 4,310 in September. The installation of cigarette butt receptacles and signage will hopefully continue to reduce the amount of cigarette butt litter.”

Water fountain and refill station“The Northern Virginia 4-H Educational & Conference Center in Front Royal was able to defer the use of 5,942 plastic disposable water bottles by installing the reusable water bottle refilling station.  Reducing the use of disposable water bottles decreases our carbon footprint and plastic burden on landfills and also saved our participants money by not having to purchase bottle waters.”  

Get inspired by reading more about other grant projects and programs using THIS LINK to see a list of the 2022 Green Grant Awards.

REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR GRANT APPLICATION BY APRIL 30, 2023!

 

Jar with pennies and a plant growing

Time to Apply for a Green Grant

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Jar with pennies and a plant growingOur spring Green Grants Program is ready for your application!

The Green Grants program empowers groups all across Virginia to make an environmental impact in their own communities.  This is one of the ways we can engage the people who live in Virginia to improve our natural and scenic environment. We believe in a shared responsibility to end littering, improve recycling and beautify communities, and we know with your determination and our support, much can be accomplished!

Grant applications will be accepted from March 1 through April 30, 2023.

The applications are evaluated and scored by a panel of experts in their fields.  In June, one Green Grant award is announced one each day. The grants are awarded to schools, parks, counties and towns, environmental groups, associations, nonprofits, service organizations, and other groups.  Individuals are not eligible.

Here are the general Grant Application Guidelines. You should apply for the category that matches the project or program you plan to put in place:  Litter Prevention, Cigarette Litter Prevention, Community Beautification, or  Recycling.  Please see the Green Grant Program webpage for more information on how to submit an application.

Here are some past awards to inspire you!

Students with litter grabbers The “Litter Critter Project” at DuPont Elementary School has positively impacted Dupont and our school community by using litter grabbers and other cleanup equipment we purchased through a Green Grant. Students have been learning about various ways to help take care of the environment and are inspiring others by encouraging them to not litter!

water bottle filling station

The Children’s Museum of Richmond now offers refillable water stations to visitors! Through the Green Grant Award, upgraded the water fountain to include a state-of-the-art refillable water bottle stations in effort to help reduce the amount of single use plastic that ends up in landfills. By encouraging visitors to reduce their use of plastic and reuse their bottles for water consumption, the Children’s Museum of Richmond hopes to help reduce their carbon footprint and raise awareness about the importance of reducing use of plastic materials.

Recycling, compost, and trash binDorey Park Farmers Market partnered with Troop 501 Boy Scouts to design and build a three-compartment recycle, compost, and trash bin for use at the Saturday morning farmers market.  The recycle and compost bin will be used for many market seasons. It will serve to educate the community about good environmental practices.

Lady with cigarette butt receptacle near park benchDickenson County Chamber of Commerce placed 18 cigarette receptacles throughout the county, and distributed pocket ashtrays to smokers during this grant period.  The town employees and county workers at the park had been picking up cigarette butts that were littered, but as time goes on there are more and more in the receptacles instead of on the ground.

To see all of the 2022 Green Grant Awards, follow THIS LINK!

To learn more about this year’s application process, please visit the Green Grants Program webpage.

For questions about the Green Grants Program or the application, please contact Beckey Watson [email protected].

Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided $282,000 for 385 programs and projects throughout the state.  We are grateful to the 2022 sponsors of our Green Grants program:

Altria Logo

WestRock LogoLogo for Village Bank

American Flag on Beach

Reasons to Celebrate

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American Flag on BeachAs we wrap up May, with its unpredictable weather, we’re looking forward to the month of June.  It’s the month where we welcome summer, have a break from school, and maybe take a vacation.

It’s an extra special month every year at our organization because for thirty days we announce the Green Grant awards – one on each day of the month.  Green Grant applications were accepted in April, and our panel of experts read, evaluated, and scored the proposals in May.  Now it’s time to reveal the projects and programs that groups across the state will accomplish in their communities.

Here are some statistics about the applicants we had this year and the projects or programs they submitted for evaluation:

The grant application categories:
Community Beautification:  45%
Cigarette Litter Prevention:  12%
Litter Prevention:  23%
Recycling:  20%

The types of groups that applied:
Schools:  8%
Nonprofits:  54%
Civic organizations:  4%
Faith-based institutions:  4%
Municipalities:  28%
Private business:  2%

The areas in which the program or project will take place:
Rural:  33%
Suburban:  16%
Urban:  51%

This is a good representation of the communities that make up Commonwealth. There were applications for projects in 63 different ZIP Codes. (There are about 850 ZIP Codes in the state of Virginia, in case you were wondering.)  Many of the groups focus on serving their communities with a great awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Several schools and municipalities aim to educate youth and teach them that we’re each responsible for the keeping our environment clean and green.

The judges mentioned that there were so many good projects that it was difficult to determine the awards.  They were impressed with the creative ideas, and the power of modest-sized organizations who are willing to make a big difference.  We wish we could fund them all!

There was one thing, however, that they all had in common with our organization:  ALL of them want to make improvements in the natural and scenic environment of our Commonwealth.  We’re grateful for the work they’re doing, and we hope that you’ll enjoy seeing the announcements each day in June.

Check back here on our Latest News post beginning on June 1st to see the announcements.  You’ll be inspired by the projects and programs they have planned!  Follow us and comment on social media too.