Is the Reno-Sparks area cleaner or dirtier than last year? The non-profit organization, Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful found out with their annual litter survey.
Volunteers drove around all over the Truckee Meadows on Wednesday, looking for illegal dumping, graffiti, and of course trash.
One group scoped out Virginia Lake Park in Reno. With surveys in hand, they rated the area based on cleanliness on a scale of 1 to 4. One being virtually no litter and 4 being an illegal dump site.
Several different locations throughout the Truckee Meadows are tracked with the annual litter survey, showing which parts of the region are impacted by trash the most.
Deidre Kennelly, the Development Director for Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful said, "We have to try to work on educating to be active citizens in keeping our community clean. Everything that they throw on the ground piles up. Trash attracts trash. Litter affects everyone. So if we all have a hand in keeping it clean, our quality of life is going to be that much better."
Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful plans to use the survey to identify possible cleanup sites in the future.
"We have the Truckee River, it's a beautiful resource. Tahoe waters coming right through our community, and unfortunately we have seen an increase in trash," said Kennelly.
That's why volunteers want to make a visible difference, not just for the people who live here, but for visitors too.
Tony Torres, a volunteer said, "Tourism is largely affected by the appearance of things. People correlate cleanliness a lot with security and safety. And so as tourism develops and industries grow here, that's something that's going to be very important to families that are moving in."
Preliminary results show that the overall cleanliness score for the Truckee Meadows is a 1.5 this year, compared to a 1.9 the previous year- meaning that visible litter has decreased in the community. If you look at the results from the last five years, however, the results shows that the amount of litter has gradually increased in our community.
KTMB staff report that while the Litter Survey provides a helpful gauge to measure progress over time and bring much needed attention to the issue of litter, it is important to know that the Litter Survey is a small snapshot of the overall community’s cleanliness.
“Many of the areas on the predetermined routes have gotten a lot better. But we know that there are still many troubled spots in that need a lot of work, including the Truckee River corridor and the open spaces that deal with repeated illegal dumping” stated Deidre Kennelly, KTMB Development Director. “Our goal is to continue to expand KTMB's education efforts to meet the needs of this growing community. We hope to inspire more youth, new residents, and visitors to be active participants in making it pristine so that everyone can enjoy the excellent quality of life this place has to offer.”
KTMB's tips for keeping the community clean:
1. Keep track of your trash, be sure to pack out what you pack in during a day on the river.
2. Secure your trash during garbage pickup days- don’t overfill your garbage bin and make sure your trash doesn’t get blown away by the wind.
3. Take action by picking up trash you see in public spaces – even one piece of litter will help!
4. Organize a cleanup in your area. Call KTMB at 775-851-5185, they can provide you with gloves, bags and tools.
5. Use the KTMB Recycling Guide at ktmb.org/recycle to find out where to properly dispose of common items.
(Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful contributed to this report.)
