CITY OF TALLAHASSEE NEWS RELEASE:

The City of Tallahassee announced a wide-ranging program designed to address a longstanding community problem – litter. Despite the efforts of City crews, community volunteers and organizations such as Keep Tallahassee Leon County Beautiful, litter continues to create an image of disorder and lack of caring in our area. To tackle this issue, the City has created the “Think Before You Throw – Where Does It Go?” program to raise public awareness about the ongoing need to deal with litter. The program was announced at a media event this morning at Lake Elberta Park where City and School District officials were joined by local business representatives united in their resolve to rid Tallahassee of litter.

“Our community is special, and we need to get a handle on the litter problem,” said Tallahassee Mayor John Marks. “We have designed specific elements of this program to focus on educating the public about the problems caused by litter, and ways to eliminate it.”

Most people who watched TV in the 1970s will remember the “Tearful Native American” commercial. A highway with a scenic background is marred when litter is thrown out of a passing car, and the camera zooms in on a distinguished face with one tear beginning to drop. Sadly, litter is still a problem. It tarnishes the beauty of our community, affects wildlife, clogs our stormwater drains and wastewater collections system, and costs money to address. Statistics indicate that four primary reasons people litter include no sense of ownership, a belief that others will pick up after them, litter is tolerated and littering is convenient.

The name, “Think Before You Throw – Where Does It Go?” captures the essence of the two main objectives of the program: To remind and educate the community to properly dispose of litter, and to raise awareness about the problems caused by litter.

The City has plans to address litter through five specific activities.

The Tarp It! campaign reminds truck drivers that state law requires them to place a cover over (or otherwise secure) the beds of their trucks when they haul loads of trash or debris that can be blown out of the truck bed.

Your Name Got Dropped seeks to create partnerships with schools and businesses to address litter in areas close to schools, especially around convenience stores and fast food restaurants. The City will work with Leon County Schools in partnering with nearby business and participate in litter clean-up events and litter reduction educational activities. Businesses will be asked to help educate customers to not litter.

The Adopt-a-Street element addresses litter within public rights-of-way along selected City streets by soliciting the participation of civic and community organizations and individuals in cleaning up litter. Under a recently adopted agreement the City’s Adopt-a-Street program will be run by the Keep Tallahassee-Leon County Beautiful organization, allowing for more efficient management and enhancement of the program.

For the Your Name Got Dropped Calendar Art Contest the City is coordinating with Leon County Schools to develop and implement an art contest for grades 1–12. Students will be challenged to “Think Before You Throw – Where Does It Go?” and create images that convey the natural beauty of our area which would be marred by litter. One winner from each grade will have his/her art featured in the calendar, which will be donated to their school for fundraising sales to support environmental programs.

The City has developed a reusable bag program, Paper or Plastic – I’ll Take Neither, to reduce a source of both waste and litter. The City will form partnerships with businesses to encourage the use of reusable shopping bags and discourage bagging single items or small purchases that can be carried without the use of a bag.

For more information, please contact the City’s Environmental Policy and Energy Resources Department at 891-BGRN (2476) or visit Talgov.com.