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Money Tree

What Would You Do With $1,000?

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Money TreeThat’s the question we ask this time of year as we launch our 30 in 30 Green Grants Program.  What would you do with a grant of $500, $750, or $1,000 to improve the natural and scenic environment in your community?  To give you some inspiration, here are the results of three of the Green Grants awards the judges chose for 2020.

The City of Norton in Southwest Virginia applied for a grant in the Cigarette Litter Prevention (CLPP) category.  They targeted an area in Downtown Norton where there was an abundance of cigarette butts littered on the ground.  They did a scan of the area and picked up 1,365 butts in August.  They installed 12 cigarette butt receptacles in the area, and did a second scan about a month later.  They only found 16 cigarette butts after the installation of the receptacles!  They also handed out 50 pocket ashtrays to citizens at a farmer’s market, city hall, and their community center.

The Friends of Bryan Park in Richmond saw a need to reduce the number of recyclable bottles and cans that were being thrown in the trash cans near a public athletic field.  A team of volunteers routinely sorted out the bottles and cans from the trash, estimating that approximately 340 cans and bottles were being thrown away each week.  They applied for a Green Grant to purchase five recycling bins to be placed at the most active locations at Parker Field.  After a 5-week pilot project, 1,700 cans and bottles were collected in the recycle bins – success!

In a “think outside the box” way, Keep Prince William Beautiful in Woodbridge hosted a Fix It Fair last Summer.  Their grant application in the Recycling category wanted to offer community members an opportunity to bring broken items to determine if they could be repaired instead of being thrown out and added to the landfill.  With the help of nine skilled “fixers” and several volunteers, they were able to successfully repair items brought to the Fix It Fair, including wooden and metal furniture, bicycles, jewelry, clothing, televisions, computers, and even a beloved stuffed octopus who was in need of repair.  By holding their fair outdoors, they were able to offer the event within COVID guidelines, and were very happy with the results.

So, what would you do in your community with a Green Grant?  Applications are now being accepted!

Clean Fairfax

Clean Fairfax Bags a Grand!

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The Clean Fairfax Council has been awarded a $1,000 grant in the Plastic Bag Recycling Category.   The Clean Fairfax Council (CFC) will use the grant funds to create an annual Plastic Bag Recycling Day and Contest to coincide with their Harvest Festival.  Plastic bags are an insidious piece of the litter puzzle in Fairfax County and education is the key to combat this problem.  Reusable bags will continue to be given out for the residents of Fairfax and surrounding areas however this does not stop the problem of plastic bag litter.  Educating children, their parents, their teachers and their neighbors is the only way to change the behaviors of the community as a whole.  Teaching them that there are reuses for plastic bags and that they can easily be recycled and then made into something else like Trex decking is the key to the plastic bag litter puzzle.  For more information of the Clean Fairfax Council or their project, please contact Jennifer Cole at 703-324-5471.

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.  These grants are made possible by KVB’s partners, Walmart and Waste Management.

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.