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Sumter Pride Week 2006 County-Wide Cleanup
| Name | Amanda Mcnulty | | Situation | Roadside and public space litter remains a constant problem in South Carolina, not only lowering community property values and inviting crime through the well-documented broken window effect, but also having a negative impact on business recruitment. Sumter County is a rural area with 1100 miles of state-maintained roadways. Despite a DHEC prize winning convenience/recylcing center program, illegal dumping and trash thrown from vehicles continues to bespoil our community. | | Response | Keep America Beautiful of Sumter County is committed to addressing this problem through education, cleanup, and enforcement. Sumter County was selected by Keep America Beautiful of South Carolina-Palmetto Pride as one of the initial "Pride Week" community cleanup sites. The initial year was successful and the Sumter KAB asked for funds to continue this
program the next year without direct leadership from KABSC-Palmetto Pride. We received $8,000 in funds to offer prizes for the various challenges to groups involved in pickups. The City of Sumter, the County of Sumter, and SCDOT all participated in agreeing to collect litter picked up by the various registered groups. | | Impact | Over 1,800 volunteers particpated in this month long cleanup. Scout groups, 4-H clubs, church congregations, governmental entities, college fraternal organizations, and others all registered and collected roadside or public space litter, bagged it, and notified our office to arrange collection. We had a celebratory picnic where sculpture and art work made of recycled material were displayed, and school groups performed dances and songs created for that event. Over 10 tons of litter were collected
and the level of awareness of civic responsibilty was enhanced and publicly acknowledged and applauded, instilling patterns of behavior that we hope will continue in the future. |
Last update10/5/2007
This website is maintained by Tiffany Rodgers.
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