Litter Resolution

Resolution on Citizens Action Plan for Litter Prevention in Mason District -

DRAFT FOR CONSIDERATION at FEB 21st. Meeting

[insert date adopted]

WHEREAS, residents of Mason District are offended by the amount of trash and litter along roadsides; in streams and parks; and in commercial and residential areas of Mason District; and

WHEREAS, the Mason District Council has spearheaded litter and trash prevention outreach and education campaigns for the past 3 years; and

WHEREAS, the Mason District Council has engaged county residents, elected officials and local, state and federal agencies by conducting surveys, townhall meetings, and promoting litter and trash clean-up events; and

WHEREAS, the National Association of Homebuilders has determined that the presence of litter tends to reduce the value of property in that neighborhood 7.4%; and

WHEREAS, the Alice Ferguson Foundation states that littering and illegal dunping are related crimes which affect our neighborhoods and the Potomac River; and

WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Police Chief’s Committee has declared littering is a quality-of-life crime because it destroys the beauty of our streets, communities and parks; and that it can also be a road hazard due to trash blown out of an automobile or from a truck bed; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Department of Transportation estimates that volunteers of Adopt-a-Highway program pick up about 3 million bags of trash from 14,000 miles of Virginia roads; and

WHEREAS, the Keep America Beautiful Foundation estimates that 51 billion pieces of litter are thrown out every year at an annual clean-up cost of $11.5 billion; and

WHEREAS, Fairfax County states that litter is the result of the improper disposal of trash which negatively impacts the envionrment and has proclaimed April as Litter Enforcement Month to encourage all residents to participate in local clean up events in their neighborhood and for law enforcement to strictly enforce litter laws during the month of April; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mason District Council is urging the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to adopt more stringent standards in litter prevention by increasing the litter enforcement to take place year long; facilitate the the issuance of VDOT permitting for the Adopt-a-Road program; pro-actively use the Fairfax County Sherriff’s Office’s Community Labor Force program; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Mason District Council recognizes the tremendous effort undertaken taken by all to continually work towards a trash-free and litter-free roadsides, streams, parks, commercial and residential areas of Mason District