Screven County Litter Index Survey

As a Keep America Beautiful affiliate, we are required to conduct an annual litter assessment of randomly selected areas of the county. The survey is called the Litter Index and is conducted each year at approximately the same time of year.

2009 Litter Index

The 2009 Annual Litter Survey was conducted on November 13, 2009. Participants were Stan Sheppard, Alan Scott, Phyllis Butts, Inez Bland, Harriett Yancey and Kathy Overstreet. The county received an overall score of 1.5 on a scale of 1-4. Residents and county personnel are doing a great job in Keeping Screven Beautiful, and for that we say "Thanks".

About the Litter Index

On the day of the Litter Index, a team of volunteers tour the survey areas and give the area a score based on what they have observed.

Volunteers use the following ratings:

No Litter
Virtually no litter can be observed.
Slightly Littered
Upon careful inspection, a small amount of litter is obvious.
Littered
Visible litter can readily be seen throughout the area, likely requiring an organized cleanup.
Extremely Littered
Major illegal dump sites are present requiring equipment or extra manpower for removal.

Approach

The county was divided into 22 sections of roadway in and out of Sylvania (see map). Each section of roadway was 3 to 5 miles in length, entering and exiting the county’s major population centers. Two observers from the Screven County Garden Club were positioned on each side of the vehicle with one additional observer centralized to view both sides of the roadway, randomly. At the completion of each section, scores and comments were collected and resolved, if necessary.

Section	Map	GPS	2008 Score	This Year's Notable Conditions	2007 Score	2006 Score
1	301 By-Pass north to Jacksonboro Bridge via 301.		1.7		1.2	1.8
2	Jacksonboro Bridge north to Plantation Rd. via 301		1.0		1.5	1.8
3	Plantation Rd. to middle of Millhaven.		1.0		1.0	1.2
4	Middle of Millhaven (Millhaven Rd.) to Waynesboro Hwy to Hiltonia Perkins Rd.		1.0		1.0	1.5
5	Hiltonia to Antioch Rd. via Hiltonia Perkins Rd.		1.8		1.5	1.2
6	Antioch Rd. to Buttermilk Rd. to Bay Branch Rd. End at Bay Branch.		1.0		1.0	1.4
7	Bay Branch to Sylvania By-Pass via Millen Hwy (21).		1.1		1.2	2.0
8	Sylvania By-Pass to Woodcliff via Rocky Ford Rd..		1.0		1.2	2.0
9	Woodcliff to Rocky Ford via Rocky Ford Rd.		1.0		1.2	2.0
10	Rocky Ford to Ogeechee Rd. via Scarboro Hwy (17).		1.0		1.5	1.2
11	Ogeechee Rd. to Jenk Hill turnoff.		1.0		1.0	1.4
12	Jenk Hill road to Pye Rd. to Goloid Rd. ending at Statesboro Hwy.		1.2		1.0	2.0
13	Statesboro Hwy to Double Heads Church turn onto Captola Rd. to Cameron Rd.		1.6		1.5	2.6
14	Captola Rd. to downtown Captola.		1.3		1.2	2.2
15	Captola to Halcyondale via Halcyondale Rd.		1.0		1.0	1.4
16	Halcyondale to Oliver via Effingham Hwy.		1.2		2.1	1.7
17	Oliver to Newington via Oliver Hwy.		1.1		1.4	1.8
18	Newington to White Hill via Savannah Hwy.		1.2		1.0	2.1
19	White Hill to Newington Hwy (24) via Poor Robin Rd and Quail Rd.		1.8		1.0	2.2
20	Newington Hwy (24) to Dickerson's Crossroads (Brannens Bridge Rd).		1.1		1.0	1.4
21	Dickerson's Crossroads to downtown Sylvania via Brannens Bridge Rd.		1.4		1.2	1.6
22	Sylvania By-Pass (entire)		1.6		2.1	2.5
			Average total 1.2		Average total 1.3	Average total 1.8

Litter Index 2008

The Litter Index score for this year is 1.2 on a 1.0 to 4.0 scale with 1.0 being the lowest score you can receive. This commendably low score is the same as last year's score.
Many of the areas along the 20 plus mile route received a grade of 1.0. There are a least 9 stretches that received a score of 1.0. This is an increase of two over last year and an outstanding result.
Conversely, several areas were graded above 1.5. These tended to be the higher trafficked stretches in the county such as along highways 301 and 17.
As seen before last two years, areas that are maintained by homeowners and some businesses were litter free. Areas around quick stops tended to be more littered. One area that continues to be an eyesore and not a litter problem is the run-down and abandoned properties that exist throughout the county. Their dilapidated appearance significantly detracts from several of the litter free areas.
Maintaining a low score of 1.2 can be attributed to several factors. These include a greater public awareness of littering primarily resulting from increased educational efforts through Keep Screven Beautiful member presentations to the public at schools and at civic meetings and through articles in the newspaper such as the article on loose trash being carried in the backs of pickup trucks that blow out as you drive along the roadways. An additional emphasis during our Keep Screven Beautiful member coordinated annual community Great American Cleanup has resulted in several areas that had received little attention in the past being cleaned for the first time. Some areas of the county are clean regularly by individuals who have Adopted-a-Highway and our new program Adopt-a-County Road. One other source of excellent support continues to come from the participation of inmates at our correctional facilities. They cover areas that receive little public attention and their efforts greatly enhance our litter free program.
The community residents should be proud of their continued success. His or her efforts make Screven County a place that anyone would be enjoying living or establishing a business.
One area that became a topic at a recent County Commissioner’s meeting was the excessive trash on Stoopto Road. A side trip survey of this road showed that significant improvement has been made alongside the road and around the dumpster area.

Litter Index 2007

The Litter Index score for this year is 1.2 on a 1.0 to 4.0 scale with 1.0 being the lowest score you can receive. This is a 0.5 improvement over last year's score, an excellent change in the right direction.
Many of the areas along the 20+ mile route received a grade of 1.0. There are a least 7 stretches that received a score of 1.0. This is an outstanding result.
Conversely, several areas were graded above 1.5. These tended to be the higher trafficked stretches in the county such as along highways 301 and 17.
As seen before last year, areas that are maintained by homeowners and some businesses were litter free. Areas around quick stops tended to be more littered. One area that continues to be an eyesore and not a litter problem is the run-down and abandoned properties that exist throughout the county. Their dilapidated appearance significantly detracts from several of the litter free areas.
The reason for the decrease in litter can be attributed to several factors. These include a greater public awareness of littering primarily resulting from increased educational efforts through Keep Screven Beautiful member presentations to the public at schools and at civic meetings and through articles in the newspaper such as the article on loose trash being carried in the backs of pickup trucks that blows out as you drive along the roadways. An additional emphasis during our Keep Screven Beautiful member coordinated annual community Great American Cleanup has resulted in several areas that had received little attention in the past being cleaned for the first time. Some areas of the county are clean regularly by individuals who have Adopted-a-Highway. One other source of excellent support has come from the participation of inmates at our correctional facilities. They cover areas that receive little public attention and their efforts greatly enhance our litter free program.
The community should be proud of their accomplishments. Their efforts make Screven County a place that anyone would be enjoy to live or establish a business.

Recommendations

Education should focus on the discouraging throwing litter from vehicles. Efforts should also be made to remove/ restore abandoned structures and to have necessary unsightly storage areas screened from view.

Last updated: November 14, 2009

Mission Statement

The Keep Screven Beautiful Commission encourages and educates all citizens of Screven County to end litter, minimize solid waste and beautify our county. The Commission works toward improving litter and solid waste control ordinances and seeks effective enforcement of all pertinent ordinances.

Keep Screven Beautiful

P.O. Box 159

Sylvania, GA 30467

Phone: 912.978.1076

Email: ksb@keepscrevenbeautiful.com