Evaluation looked at two miles of roadway in five county areas
Keep Chatham Beautiful recently completed a litter survey of Chatham County as part of the new nonprofit’s application to become an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, an organization dedicated to encouraging residents to take greater responsibility for improving their environment.
Volunteers drove throughout five specified geographic districts in the county to evaluate the amount and type of litter in various agricultural, commercial, educational, industrial, residential and recreational areas.
Sherry Arnott, executive director of Keep Chatham Beautiful, said teams of two volunteers spent one day last fall surveying about two miles of roadways near the entrances to the communities.
“That is what visitors see,” Arnott said.
Rating litter on a scale from 1 (no litter) to 4 (extremely littered), the composite score for the county was 1.27. Among the five areas examined, Tybee Island had the least amount of litter, while Skidaway Island had the most. Areas in Garden City, Pooler and Georgetown were also surveyed. Savannah, which has its own beautification organization, was not included in the survey.
The volunteers surveying for litter used a scoring consideration based upon visibility, frequency and cleanup difficulty. Litter included plastics, paper, glass bottles, cardboard, fast-food containers, bags of garbage, and discarded household furniture and appliances.
Volunteers also surveyed for illegal signs, graffiti, junk vehicles, improper outside storage of furniture, appliances, and vehicle parts.
On Tuesday morning, a ceremony marking Keep Chatham Beautiful’s affiliation with the national organization was held at the county’s recycling center on Eisenhower Drive.
The organization consists of 23 community leaders, representing residents, government and industry. There are also three advisory board members from government and the business community.
Keep Chatham Beautiful will focus on litter prevention, beautification and community greening, and waste reduction and recycling.
President Rick Hamilton said that the nonprofit's survey can be used as a measurement tool when they conduct periodic reassessments.
Five areas individual litter rating: 1 (no litter) to 4 (extremely littered)
Score / Area
1.10 / Tybee Island area
1.23 / Garden City
1.28 / Pooler
1.32 / Georgetown area
1.42 / Skidaway Island Area