How You Can Be a Part of the Litter Solution

Litter can get in our way no matter what we are doing. Nothing taints a pleasant day’s hike like spotting a plastic bag hanging from a tree and stepping on a piece of gum while walking in a parking lot running errands can easily put you in a foul mood.

Litter also has larger economic and environmental impacts beyond being a day-to-day annoyance. According to a Keep America Beautiful study, “this includes lost tourism revenues, expenses for repairing vehicles, boats and ships, restoration of ecosystems, wildlife injury, and eventually the cost to human health.” Litter in our community and neighborhoods can attract vermin, create fire hazards, and contaminate nearby water sources.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful (KDWB) has been working with residents to tackle the issue of litter for over thirty years and has helped pick up thousands of pounds of litter from our community through various programs.

Right now, schools can sign up to participate in the “Principal for a Day” program, a community initiative that encourages students to pick up litter in their community. The program was started in 2019 by Emery Silvers, an elementary student at the time, who was determined to get people around her to help clean up the community after her teacher showed the class the impacts of litter on animals.

Schools sign up by emailing ahartline@dwswa.org to request litter pickup kits and a handout for students. KDWB then drops off supplies and students report their cleanups online. The first week of April, winners will be calculated and the student who picks up the most litter in their school gets to be "Principal for a Day." All of the students that participate get to take home a small prize given by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority and a certificate recognizing their hard work.

Want to help pick up litter, but your days of homework are long over? Consider organizing and adopting a mile with a group or your family. The Adopt-A-Mile program, offered by Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful allows businesses, schools, families, organizations, and individuals to adopt a stretch of road and commit to keeping it clean. Not only does this help to beautify your community, but it also contributes to the health and safety of your neighbors.

Sometimes volunteering can be difficult to work in to our routines because we all have hectic lives. That's why a program like Adopt-a-Mile is so useful in finding time to volunteer. Because Adopt-a Mile is volunteer led, you have the option of picking up whenever you want as long you go out four times in a year.

All you need to do to start is choose the location you would like and submit an application online at https://www.dwswa.org/adopt-a-mile where you will receive an email with approval once the area is deemed safe. Then, you schedule your supply pickup from the recycling center and you are free to tackle the area however you like.

Roads that have been adopted are recognized with an Adopt-A-Mile sign with the adopting organization’s name at both the beginning and end of the mile. To qualify for the road signs, you’ll need to complete four reported cleanups within one year of joining the program.

Want to clean up, but not sure you can handle an entire mile or make a long-term commitment? No problem! You can get your own litter pickup kit as well by emailing ahartline@dwswa.org and deciding where you would like to cleanup and what day.

Last year, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful was able to pick up 14,098 pounds of litter thanks to Principal for a Day, Adopt-a-Mile, and various cleanups throughout the year, but none of that would have been possible without residents like you that decided to take time out of their day to deal with litter. How will you help us keep our community clean and safe this year?

     Amy Hartline is the recycling and education program coordinator for the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. Have a recycling question? Contact her at (706) 278-5001 or ahartline@dwswa.org.