A huge thank you to the community members and VCU students that came out yesterday December 7th to pick up litter along Grayland and Idlewood Avenues. The most littered items collected were cigarette filters, plastic cigar tips, cigarette packs, snack wrappers, and plastic water bottles.
Cigarette filters are composed of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic which does not quickly degrade at times taking up to 10 years to breakdown. Plastic cigar tips take even longer.
Our neighborhood’s stormdrains carry street trash like cigarette butts straight to the James River during rain events. The cigarette butts impact local wildlife, decreases the appeal of the river and contributes to the lost of tourism and revenue. Richmond jobs depends heavily on tourism.
Even closer to home and according to Keep America Beautiful, the presence of litter in a community decreases property values by a little over 7%. For homes near the Petronius Jones Park that could mean any where from $10,500 to $14,000 in lost sales.
To learn more about littering misconceptions visit: Keep America Beautiful or Clean Virginia Waterways
randolphrva.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.