With 54 square miles of real estate comprising the City of Hattiesburg, officials – and residents – can understandably have a hard time keeping up with the amount of litter that finds its way onto the city’s roadways.
Because that issue can’t be tackled single-handedly, city officials are initiating “Don’t Be a Litterburg” in conjunction with the Great American Cleanup, a nationwide community involvement program that encourages volunteers to clean up litter around their communities. To kick off the event, Mayor Toby Barker and other city officials were joined at a Friday press conference across from Merchants Foodservice in Hattiesburg, where about 40 volunteers from that organization took time to clean up litter along Edwards Street.
“Today, I’m proud to launch a new initiative that I believe will help continue our trajectory into becoming a premier city in the Gulf South,” Barker said. “A premier city must be a clean city, and many factors play into that.
“It’s our goal to educate all of Hattiesburg about the effects of littering and to engage our community in keeping Hattiesburg clean and free of trash. But it’s more than artwork and a clever saying – it’s actionable steps that we believe will help us get to where we want to go.”
Those steps will consist of four key initiatives:
• The utilization of special events, such as working with Keep Hattiesburg Beautiful to coordinate large-scale cleanup events for the Great American Cleanup and Make a Difference Day. Those events – such as The Big Event at the University of Southern Mississippi – typically include picking up litter along roadways and beautification at local parks and playgrounds. Additional events include Right Way to Throw Away Day, Earth Day at the Farmers Market, America Recycles Day and Stuff-a-Truck events.
• Education initiatives, including reaching out to local public and private schools. Barker said after seeing a study that shows individuals under the age of 30 are more likely to litter than those that are older, city officials are committed to reaching students early enough for the anti-littering message to resonate and take root with children. To that end, this spring officials will work with local second-grade classes to launch a pilot litter prevention curriculum. Students will get a visit from Nkrumah Frazier, the city’s sustainability officer, who will teach them the importance of picking up and preventing litter.
• Business outreach, such as the Merchants Foodservice volunteers, signage for parking lots and partnering with other organizations to make litter prevention a part of company culture.
• Social responsibility, in which officials challenge all Hattiesburg citizens to commit to anti-littering measures. That includes picking up litter, encouraging friends and families to do the same, and sharing information on recycling.
“Litter – trash thrown on the streets, in our parks, in our parking lots – that’s an insult to our beautiful city,” Hattiesburg City Council Vice President Mary Dryden said. “Please be the change – set an example for the children around us by keeping a (plastic) bag in your car.
“Then trash doesn’t become litter. Take a bag with you when you walk your dog. Thank you for doing your part in keeping Hattiesburg beautiful and not being a Litterburg.”
The Litterburg design and artwork – which consists of the “Don’t Be a Litterburg” wording alongside a littering insect – was conceived by Abby and Brandon Thaxton, owners of The Lucky Rabbit on Mobile Street in downtown Hattiesburg.
“They created a shirt for their store with the Litterburg artwork that you see today,” Barker said. “We knew that raising awareness around an issue that is so prevalent in our city would only be successful if the campaign was centered around artwork and messaging created by residents, for residents.”
In addition to the “Don’t Be a Litterburg” initiative, several other measures have been taken against litter in the past several years, including pinpointing problems and inefficiencies in the city’s curbside recycling program and the purchase of a new sweeper truck. Officials also launched a new brand called “Rethink Recycling,” which asks residents to set a new standard for the city on that initiative.
“Raising awareness about the importance of the program, coupled with internal processes, proved to be successful,” Barker said. “And while we believe there are still so many more who can benefit from recycling, we’ve enrolled approximately 700 over the last two and a half years.
“On average, that’s 25 per month, and month after month we continue to see more and more individuals and businesses who are interested in recycling.”
