Index: City, county ‘slightly littered’

Published 9:30 am Thursday, August 29, 2019

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VALDOSTA – Valdosta-Lowndes County recently rated a “slightly littered” ranking in the annual Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful litter index.

Valdosta and Lowndes County rated a combined score of 1.8 (slightly littered), a slight decrease from the 2018 score of 1.9, according to KLVB.

Individually, the City of Valdosta scored a 1.8 and the county scored a 1.8, said H. Aaron Strickland, KLVB executive director. 

The most littered areas were rural roads (paved and dirt), high-traffic areas, some lower income neighborhoods — specifically neighborhoods where the majority of the houses were rentals, he said. The least littered places were owner-occupied residential neighborhoods, office parks and other maintained areas.

“The litter index is a great tool,” Strickland said. “Although this year’s score is a 1.8, citizens should keep in mind that this survey is only an average score, and some areas are definitely worse than others. Overall, Valdosta and Lowndes County are slightly littered, with some areas that are impeccable, and others that would be excellent contenders for our next cleanups.”

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The Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful participants who conducted this Keep America Beautiful Litter Index were KLVB board members, Kelly Stubbs, Darcy Gunter, Angela Bray, City of Valdosta stormwater manager, and Erica McLelland, South Georgia regional commission environmental planner, and Strickland.

“KLVB is committed to reducing litter in the city and county,” Strickland said. “We host several cleanup and electronic recycling events throughout the year that help us reach that goal, in addition to our Adopt-A-Road (county) and Adopt-A-Street (city) programs. We welcome new and returning volunteers to help us continue to reach our goals.”

In 1998, Keep America Beautiful retained Dr. J. Winston Porter, president of the Waste Policy Center in Leesburg, Va., and former U.S. EPA assistant administrator, to serve as manager of this litter measurement tool development project. 

Porter, along with a team of experts in the field of litter, reviewed and researched existing state, national and international litter measurement tools. The result of this process was the creation of the KAB Litter Index.

Keep America Beautiful is a nonprofit organization with a network of 500 local, statewide, and international programs educate individuals about litter prevention and ways to reduce, reuse, recycle and properly manage waste materials. 

Through partnerships and strategic alliances with residents, businesses and government. KAB’s programs motivate millions of volunteers annually to clean up, beautify, and improve their neighborhoods, creating safer and more livable community environments, according to KLVB.

For more information on how to volunteer for community beautification projects, call (229) 671-3698 or visit KLVB.net. As always, Strickland said, “Remember, litter will never pick itself up.”