Anti-Litter Programs
SWCD LITTER WISE CAMPAIGN
Litter Prevention and Recycling Given High Priority during Natural Resources
Conservation Week........
No matter where litter starts, it moves. From streets and highways to parks and waterways. Wind and weather moves litter around a community, into the gutters, planted gardens, alleyways and parking areas. Other influences include changes in household and business trash collection. When illegal dumping occurs, days and sometimes weeks or months will pass before it gets cleaned up. In the meantime, people, animals and wildlife are naturally attracted, trash bags are opened, and the trash is distributed on the ground. Once this happens, it is easily caught by the wind and becomes ... litter!
Solutions to litter problems are not always about cleaning up, after the fact. In most cases, solutions come from thoughtful prevention.
Here are some examples of what you -- and others -- can do to help prevent litter in your community.
We know it takes each and everyone of us to make a difference. Do your part ... Help us prevent litter in your community.
A Landfill is No Dump Activity
Quest for Less Skills Index (Full Curriculum is on the CD Rom)
Virginia Litter Coordinators List
Waste Management Pollution Guide
Clean Virginia Waterways - Waterway Cleanups & Litter
Lesson Plans from the Tools for Teachers Curriculum
Grants and Resources For Teachers
Classifying Debris Lesson Plan
Packet Partners: Virginia Naturally, Virginia Department of Forestry, Richmond Clean City Commission, Central Virginia Waste Management Authority, Keep Norfolk Beautiful, Clean Virginia Waterways, Virginia Recycling Association, Virginia Council for Litter Prevention and Recycling, SPSA, Frederick County Litter and Recycling Program.
Access the Campaign's TV Spot by Clicking on the Logo provided above. (In order to view this file, users will need the Real Media Player.)
Virginia's Litter. It Just Isn't Natural. Campaign Poster
In 2002, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Litter Control and Recycling Fund Advisory Board helped develop and produce materials to support efforts for a statewide litter-awareness campaign. The goal of the campaign, "Litter...It Just Isn't Natural," is to raise awareness about littering and its harmful impacts on innocent, living things. Ultimately, the hope is a litter-free Virginia.
Since 2003, the focus has been on distributing this message to a variety of audiences across Virginia. Key to this effort was the distribution of campaign marketing materials to the litter prevention program managers who are the outreach contacts for the locality and citizens. Each program manager received copies of the campaign poster, TV and radio PSA pieces, and a number of educational outreach pieces (premiums).
The campaign served as a unifying theme for the 2005 Spring Statewide Litter Campaign, a multi-agency litter awareness effort (April-June).
In 2001-2002, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Virginia Litter Control and Recycling Fund Advisory Board funded the development of a unified, statewide campaign to raise awareness about the importance of litter prevention in the Commonwealth.
The campaign is designed to provide litter prevention programs across the state with a unified theme and the design for campaign materials which they can produce and customize for their local litter prevention program activities.
As part of developing the campaign theme, qualitative audience research was conducted in the Fall of 2001. The research consisted of a series of one-on-one interviews with young adult men (age 18 - 35), representing urban and rural Virginia residents. This audience was determined by litter prevention experts in Virginia to be the most likely to litter. The research showed that the most compelling anti-litter messages pertain to the injury or harm that litter causes to innocent life -- especially wildlife, children and the environment.
With that in mind, the campaign theme is: Litter. It Just Isn't Natural.
Communications materials designed and produced for the campaign demonstrate the impact of litter on wildlife to convey the importance of litter prevention for all Virginians. Additionally, a number of training sessions were held in 2003 for program managers in order to maximize the campaign's effectiveness.
TV and radio public service announcements were produced for distribution to local radio and TV stations
by the local litter prevention programs. In addition, artwork
for the campaign logo and an in-theater slide has been provided
on a CD ROM which is included in each Litter Program Manager's Campaign
Book. A poster has been produced for distribution
to local litter prevention programs.
For access to campaign materials and for additional information, contact your
Local Litter Prevention Program Manager.
Virginia Adopt-A-Stream Program
Adoption | Stenciling | Helpful hints | Manual, forms | Adopt-A-Stream Presentation (PDF) | Contact
It's up to each of us to keep Virginia's rivers, streams, lakes and bays clean. That's the idea behind DCR's Adopt-A-Stream Program (AAS). The waterway cleanups supported by this
anti-litter campaign provide a chance for local businesses, civic groups, watershed associations, churches, schools, environmental concerns and scouts to work together or separately to do their part.
The statewide program aims to reduce litter while advancing citizen stewardship and understanding of the commonwealth's precious waterways. Adopt-A-Stream promotes education, public outreach, citizen involvement, partnership and community capacity-building through Virginia's diverse constituencies.
Waterway adoption
You need to get your hands a little dirty to truly learn about nature. Waterway cleanups provide that prospect. A few hours collecting litter from a local shoreline establishes a link between citizens, community waterways and their watersheds. You see firsthand how your cleanup work improves a waterway's quality and appearance. You feel good about your work, become a caretaker of a local waterway and assume a watershed-based stewardship ethic.
By signing up for DCR's voluntary, do-it-yourself Adopt-A-Stream program, your group agrees to at least one, preferably two, cleanups per year for at least two years. The minimum length of shoreline a group can adopt is one-quarter mile. A team of two typically covers a mile of lightly littered shoreline in an hour or two. Many groups opt for two cleanups a year, one in the spring and another in the fall. DCR helps by providing trash bags, gloves, safety vests, and instructional and promotional documents. DCR also gives each group custom signage featuring the adopted waterway and organization.
Storm drain stenciling
Another way AAS volunteers serve their community is by making fellow citizens aware of stormwater runoff pollution by stenciling storm drains. Many people mistakenly believe stormwater runoff is treated before emptying into nearby waterways. These painted messages remind residents of the link between streets and a waterway's health. It's a community effort with lasting effects.
DCR provides Mylar® stencils, which read "Dump no waste, drains to (river/stream/lake/bay)," for free. They are available in English and Spanish.
Helpful hints, getting started
Paperwork, sign-up, follow-up
To view or print the following, you'll need the free Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) reader.
By reporting cleanup or stenciling efforts to DCR, we'll be able to better meet your needs.
To learn more . . .
For more information, contact the Adopt-A-Stream coordinator at (804) 692-0903, email adoptastream@dcr.virginia.gov, or write:
Virginia Adopt-A-Stream Program
Department of Conservation and Recreation
203 Governor Street, Suite 213
Richmond, VA 23219
You can download a promotional flier on the program by clicking here (PDF, 42k).
Click here to view a presentation that describes the Adopt-A-Stream Program (PDF, 914K)
Click here to view a list of those participating in the program.
Click here to see a few photos of AAS volunteers keeping Virginia's streams clean.
You might also be interested in water quality monitoring. Follow this link to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's monitoring information or click here to visit a site about the Izaak Walton League's Save Our Streams program. Learn about Virginia's Waterways Cleanup Day by clicking here.
- Virginia Assign-A-Highway Program