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Who will win the litter wars?
Keep Liberty Beautiful
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Are you up for a challenge? The Great American Cleanup activities are under way in Liberty County. Litter is a frustrating and challenging problem. An integral part of the success of these upcoming events is your participation. You see, Keep Liberty County Beautiful is a volunteer-action organization. The emphasis is on volunteer(s)! That means the group’s success is dependent on community support.
In the past several years, our organization has received many state and national awards. While we certainly are honored to have those recognitions, the reality is that our true success stems from local residents who flock to cleanups and spend hours trying to make their local streets, towns and communities better, cleaner place to live.
True success for us comes with events like the recent quarterly Recycle It! Fair. Cars streamed in steadily for four hours, bringing electronics and other household hazardous waste items that did not end up in landfills, thanks to the community effort. Thursday’s campus cleanup at Midway Middle School was truly successful. Several clubs joined us, volunteering their time and hard work. Afterward, we saw significantly less litter and debris on campus and around the school’s perimeter than with the last two Midway Middle campus cleanups.
True success is seeing more and more local businesses make a commitment to recycle. We also see more businesses offering environmentally friendly goods and services in our area. A number of local schools recycle paper, plastics and aluminum, and several don’t stop there. They recycle glue containers, batteries, ink cartridges, juice pouches and more. That takes commitment.
True success occurs even after a cleanup. Last Saturday, new volunteers were in disbelief as they drove away from a cleanup site they had spent hours working on. A truck driver had just tossed out beer bottles as he passed. I can’t believe the guy was stupid enough to throw litter onto a freshly cleaned road, but he unwittingly converted our volunteers into true believers. At that point, litter became a personal issue for them. They are going to be looking for you on the roads now, fella. I’d be a little more careful about throwing out beer bottles if I were you.
Now, can Keep Liberty County Beautiful really take credit for the displays of community concern and interest exhibited by our local residents? No. They care about our community and what it looks like because Liberty County is full of wonderful people. They really want this community to be all that it can be.
So, for all you “litterers” out there, there are hundreds of folks who notice what you do. And the number is growing. You may want to think about finding a trash can next time.
Upcoming KLB events:
The Great American Cleanup dates so far:
• March 27, 7:30 a.m.-noon: City of Riceboro cleanup
• April 10 and May 1: Neighborhoods and challenge cleanups
• April 17,  8:30  a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Cities of Gum Branch, Flemington, Midway and Walthourville
• April 22, 3 p.m.-5:30 p.m.: Earth Day celebration, “The Green Scene”
• April 24, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: City of Hinesville cleanup
• May 15, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.: Recycle it! Fair for electronics and HHW items.

Plan now to volunteer and make a difference where you live. For more information, call 880-4888 or e-mail klcb@coastalnow.net.
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