Keep Prince William Beautiful | Environmental Stewardship & Community Programs Programs Litter Awareness

Litter Awareness

Litter surveying provides an opportunity for community members to evaluate how much litter is on the ground and where the most littered spaces are located in Prince William County. Volunteers may choose to survey preselected roadways or shopping centers for existing litter. Roadways are rated using a 1 to 4 litter index scale; shopping centers are assessed for litter and additional maintenance issues using a 29 point survey.

Volunteers can expect to...

Use a personal vehicle to travel to and either drive along and/or inspect listed survey locations
Spend roughly 2-3 hours completing surveys, depending on how many and which type of locations are visited
Complete the survey and return to KPWB
Complete their hours on their own time and schedule

One of the strongest contributors to littering is the prevalence of existing litter. According to the 2009 National Visible Litter Survey and Litter Cost Study, almost 15% of littering has to do with an individual’s surrounding environment, meaning litter encourages litter. Furthermore, the presence of litter in the community decreases property values by over 7% and litter removal costs the U.S. roughly $11.5 billion each year. Heavily littered neighborhoods and shopping centers also consistently experience more crime and acts of vandalism. Considering Prince William County holds over 90 shopping centers, we face a critical need to include them and similar infrastructure within the scope of learning how to best care for our environment. Encouraging landlords, tenants, and customers to be good environmental stewards is an important part of this effort.

The results of these surveys are used by KPWB, Prince William County, and national litter organizations to determine the effectiveness of local litter control programs and the cost of litter on our environment. Surveys also serve as a opportunity for KPWB and our county to locate littered sites for cleanups and maintenance.