GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – Alachua County has been awarded a $10,000 grant from Keep America Beautiful to tackle cigarette litter in the area.
Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit, and its local affiliate, Keep Alachua County Beautiful, will use the grant to support a 2023 Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP) in Gainesville and the surrounding area.
The funds will go toward installing new cigarette receptacles, maintaining existing ones and repairing damaged ones. On June 30, 2023, the initiative installed seven new receptacles in downtown Gainesville on Main Street between SW 1 Ave. and NW 1 Ave.
The CLPP also aims to encourage enforcement of litter laws, distribute portable ashtrays to smokers and raise awareness about the issue of cigarette litter in the area.
“We’re trying to encourage people to take a small step to make a big difference,” said Gina Hawkins, Executive Director of Keep Alachua County Beautiful.
Along with the grant for Keep Alachua County Beautiful, Keep America Beautiful distributed a total of nearly $400,000 in merit-based grants to its community affiliates, as well as local governments, business improvement districts, downtown associations, parks and recreation commissions and other community beautification and anti-litter organizations.
Since its founding in 2002, the CLPP has become the nation’s largest cigarette litter reduction program. Over 1,850 communities across the United States have established local CLPP initiatives and reduced their cigarette litter by 50 percent within the program’s first six months.
Keep America Beautiful says this grant funding will lead to cleaner neighborhoods, healthier environments and improved quality of life in the community.
In Alachua County’s 2023 program, all collected cigarette butts will be sent to TerraCycle, a company which will recycle them into sustainable community necessities like benches and picnic tables.
In a 2020 study, Keep America Beautiful found cigarette butts to be the most littered item in America, making up 20 percent of all items. This litter usually occurs at transition points like bus stops, building entrances and sidewalk areas. This is why Keep Alachua County Beautiful is focused on placing receptacles in areas like crosswalks.
“The Cigarette Litter Prevention Program raises awareness, changes behaviors and promotes responsible disposal practices,” said Becky Lyons, Chief Operating Officer of Keep America Beautiful. “It is making a tangible difference in reducing cigarette litter and fostering a cleaner environment.”