The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation has launched the Litter Awareness Campaign. The campaign is a statewide public service campaign designed to bring attention to the issue of litter in Georgia with the use of digital and print media, local programs, and community outreach activities, including an online pledge component. In addition to harming wildlife and the environment, litter negatively impacts economic development, health, and safety across our state. Throughout this campaign, targeted messaging, programs, and initiatives will highlight these impact areas and provide resources for everyday actions to help reduce—and ultimately eliminate—litter in Georgia.
Why We Need This Campaign: National Statistics on Litter & Blight:
• The direct cost of cleaning up litter: $11.5 billion nationally; $10 million in Georgia
• When litter is present, property value decreases by 7%.
• 93% of homeowners say that the presence of litter would influence their purchasing decision.
• 36% of business development officials say that litter impacts their decision to locate to a community.
• The number of people stealing doubles when litter and illegal graffiti are present.
• Plastic trash in our environment is valued at $7.2 trillion, including 2% that is incinerated.
• 80% of ocean plastic comes from land-based sources.
• Areas with beautified vacant lots have seen a 27.5% reduction in depression.
• There is a 12% lower mortality rate associated with exposure to outdoor green areas.
• There are more than 50 billion pieces of litter on our nation’s roadways, with 4.6 billion pieces larger than four inches in size.
• Most roadway litter—76%–originates from motorists and pedestrians. • 15% of litter occurs in already blighted environments.
• Approximately 85% of littering results from individual attitudes. Changing individual behavior is key to preventing litter.
• 83% of litter near storm drains consist of smaller items under 4 inches.
• Motorists not properly securing truck or cargo loads, including collection vehicles, representing 20.7% of roadway litter 4 inches-plus. Vehicle debris and improperly secured containers, dumpsters, trashcans or residential waste/recycling bins represent another 8.1% of litter over 4 inches.
Join in our fight against litter!
