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Litter remains to be a nagging problem in Bulloch County and all across the state. Unsecured loads fly out of truck beds and careless motorists toss out their cigarette butts and empty beverage bottles. Litter can cause hazardous road conditions and can give visitors and residents a negative impression of an area, which in turn has a negative affect on the area’s economy. Litter also has environmental impacts on water quality and wildlife.
Recently a team of Keep Bulloch Beautiful volunteers scanned the county to conduct the annual Litter Index. This scan grades the same areas across the county year after year and identifies problem areas in need of attention. The volunteers saw several improved areas but noticed even more that are badly littered. The areas around Georgia Southern University have improved since last year partly due to several volunteer litter pickups conducted by students around the campus. Each of the county’s downtown areas have also improved and look cleaner.
On the needs improvement list were the unmanned dumpster sites located in the more rural areas of the county that continue to be an eye sore, and the area around Wal-Mart and Statesboro Mall. Keep Bulloch Beautiful will work with county officials and volunteers throughout the year to improve the identified problem areas.
Keep Bulloch Beautiful will have some outside help with its litter prevention efforts for the first time this year. In 2005 Governor Perdue formed the Litter Abatement and Prevention Team to identify ways in which the state can address litter problems in a comprehensive way. In August, the results of the team’s findings will be put into action at the first ever statewide Litter Summit in Atlanta. Keep Bulloch Beautiful director Brooke Brandenburg will be there to learn about the new programs being implemented around the state.
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