Garland County keeping America beautiful

For the third year in a row, The Hot Springs/Garland County Beautification Commission (HSGCBC) has been given the nation's first place award by Keep America Beautiful (KAB) for their Cigarette Litter Prevention Study. The study, made possible by a grant from Philip Morris USA with additional support from RAI Services Company, was developed by the HSGCBC. It involved selecting nine sites to receive either signage, signage and a free ash receptacle, or areas with no intervention that functioned as a placebo sites.

 

After eleven weeks of study, there was a 38% reduction in sites with signage only compared to the placebo sites. The sites with signage and free ash receptacles had a 68% reduction compared to the placebo sites. Using the KAB Litter Index, there was a 33% drop in overall litter.

 

For the first time in America, the cigarette litter study included "real time” periods of study, in which sites were studied for as much as two hours, and the public's litter actions were documented. For more information, call 501-655-2161, email adamrobertshsgcbc@msn.com or visit www.HotSpringsGreen.org