Jerry Davis, Executive Director of the NNPDC opened the summit, expressing his concerns about our litter problem and reminding us that we must all practice good stewardship of the land and do whatever is necessary to keep the Northern Neck beautiful and healthy.

Speakers included Virginia Delegate Albert C. Pollard, Jr., and the honorable W. Tayloe Murphy, Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources, who delivered the keynote address. Pollard noted that crime and truancy rates are tied to the environment, and that litter dampens property values. He said that there is no “silver bullet” solution to the litter problem and that Government alone cannot fix it. He suggested that if we all do just a little to help (e.g., picking up a few pieces of trash whenever walking in one’s neighborhood) it could make a significant difference. When asked about the possibility of a bottle bill in Virginia, he indicated that there is little chance of one passing in the near future. Murphy pointed out that, although the Virginia Constitution mandates the protection of natural and historic resources, only 1% of the total budget is spent on this effort. He strongly advocates citizen involvement in litter control through the “Adopt a Highway” program and the establishment of conservation easements for the protection of natural resources. He also recognized numerous citizens and local groups who have been especially committed to keeping the Northern Neck clean.

Kathleen Register of Longwood University, Executive Director of Clean Waterways of Virginia, gave a presentation entitled “Litter - Trends, Sources, Impacts and Prevention.” She shared results of data collection studies which indicate the leading components of litter are cigarette butts; beverage bottles; bags/food wrappers; beverage cans; disposable cups, plates and eating utensils; caps and lids; straws and stirrers. She discussed the impacts of aquatic debris on the environment; which include habitat destruction, animal entanglement and ingestion, risks to human health and safety, and negative effects on economics and aesthetics. She also addressed the positive effect that bottle bills have on the environment; e.g., states with bottle bill legislation have fewer littered bottles than the national figure; and Michigan, with a 10-cent deposit on bottles, has the lowest number of littered bottles.

Patty Long, Executive Director of the Northern Neck Tourism Council, said that tourism, which is the 3rd largest retail industry, has been shown to have a positive impact on the ecology and natural environments. She advocates the education of young children (starting in kindergarten) regarding the negative effects of litter; and she offered to add a litter education segment to the “museum tour” program which the Council provides to area schools.

Harold Hinson, of the Lancaster-Marattico Watershed Partnership, spoke about the highly successful Simonson Community Clean-Up program. He reported that their first clean-up in April 1998 yielded 22,000 lbs of debris, filling two containers; whereas only 44 bags of litter were collected in May 2004 and no containers were required.

In his presentation, VDOT’s Joe Staton, Warsaw Resident Engineer, explained that, since highway safety is VDOT’s top priority, limited staff and resources prevent them from adequately addressing highway litter in our region. He also explained that there are very strict rules governing the use of prisoners for litter pick-up; e.g., they cannot work in subdivisions, downtown areas, or near busy intersections. He said that the most successful litter control endeavor has been the Adopt-a-Highway program., adding that last year 50,000 volunteers collected 75,000 bags of trash.

NNPDC staff presented information regarding the southwest Virginia Assign-a-Highway program, run by a county-level “Litter Control Officer”, whereby court probationers receive litter pick-up assignments to fulfill their community service requirements. Following that, Lynn Sudduth, of the Northern Neck Regional Jail, discussed our local probationary programs, which do not benefit from the supervision of a dedicated “Litter Control Officer.” Sudduth was followed by Northumberland County Commonwealth Attorney R. Michael McKenney, who spoke about the difficulties associated with establishment of a local Assign-a-Highway program. He said that he has been talking to area judges about it, and all are concerned about adequate supervision of probationers. Since there are currently only four probation officers for five counties in our region, they are already overworked; and additional county funds would have to be devoted in order to provide adequate supervision for an Assign-a-Highway program.

The litter summit concluded with a workshop conducted by J. C. Berger, Board Chairman of the Northern Neck Soil and Water Conservation District. Participants were asked for input into four categories: “Impacts” (of litter), “What Can We Do?”, “Where Do We Go From Here?”, and “Who Takes Action?”. Litter reduction ideas resulting from the workshop included the following::

· Better enforcement of local ordinances regarding litter and junk sites
· More emphasis on recycling, including an overhaul of local recycling programs
· Better publicity regarding enforcement actions taken
· Better publicity regarding the benefits of litter reduction
· Establishment of performance measures to gauge litter reduction progress
· Creation of a citizen “tip line” to report littering activities
· Better education starting at a younger age - “Take the litter message into the public schools.”
· Coupling litter pickup campaigns with other successful community events

The workshop underscored the need for a citizen task force to determine what further actions can be taken to implement the summit recommendations. The Northern Neck Planning District Commission is taking the lead in forming this task force. Anyone interesting in becoming involved with the task force should contact Jerry W. Davis, Executive Director, NNPDC, at 804-333-1900.