The annual Litter Index shows Mecklenburg County has less litter today than at any time since 2003, according to Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful. The Litter Index is an annual visual assessment of the types and amount of litter present in the community.
The index is determined by sending volunteers to 50 locations over a two-day period. Each site is one mile in length. Volunteers observe the amount of litter present on a scale of one to four with one indicating no litter and four to represent a lot. This year’s record-setting number is 1.22.
Jake Wilson, executive director of Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful, said the score indicates there was less debris falling from fewer construction trucks during the recession, and growth in the popularity of the Adopt-A-Highway program.
“Our mission statement says Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful wants to empower the citizens of Mecklenburg County to take greater responsibility for enhancing their environment,” said Wilson. I’m very happy with the score and want to thank everyone for doing their part.”
Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful is a service of the County’s Land Use and Environmental Services Agency (LUESA). It was certified as an official chapter of Keep America Beautiful in 2004. It serves to educate the public about the benefits of properly disposing of litter and it also organizes the local effort for national public clean-up events like Litter Sweep, Swat-A-Litterbug and the Great American Clean-up.
