Let's make every day Earth Day in Huntington
Now that the West Virginia Legislature has enacted a law authorizing non-police to issue littering citations, the City of Huntington City Council and the City Administration have the tool to eliminate litter and the improper handling of household garbage. The City Council members and the Mayor must act swiftly to implement a strategy. We would like to suggest a plan.
Education: An effective public education campaign must focus on our need to change inappropriate behavior. An educational public service advertising campaign plan with a litter abatement theme will engage people who litter and mishandle trash, with a deliberate message to be more responsible and respectful. The new program will educate Huntington residents and visitors that this behavior is wrong, and the billboards and public service announcements will serve as notice that enforcement will follow, beginning on a date certain.
Enforcement: To be successful, this anti-litter campaign will include an appropriate level of enforcement as a deterrent to littering behavior. Citation Officers who observe littering acts will issue citations to individuals.The City of Huntington will train 40 community volunteers living in the 13 recognized neighborhoods, who will have authorization to issue litter citations. The new citation officers will focus their administrative citations on individuals who actually litter, result in the levying of fines that will lead to behavior change. These citations will encourage respectful behavior, simply by the financial consequences of the illegal act.
Abatement: The long-term challenge continues to focus on the City of Huntington’s Department of Public Works’ ability to respond more often and more quickly to the rising number of litter complaints and requests for enforcement. An ever-expanding trash and litter abatement collaboration will nurture a proactive response by property owners, tenants, landlords, property owners, government agencies and government-funded agencies, while stressing the need to keep the areas at, or around, their localities clean and litter free.
The goal of an ongoing educational campaign and a consistent enforcement effort is to regain Huntington's prior reputation as a clean and physically attractive community. The overall litter abatement strategy is to create a public awareness of the negative impact of litter and scattered solid waste. This will lead to a dramatically expanded public and private participation in eliminating street and alley litter, and/or sponsored cleaning activities, rather than waiting for the limited resources of the City of Huntington’s Public Works Department to respond.
Litter shames us all. The time is now - It is time to reclaim the pride of our hometown. Remember, together we can accomplish anything we can imagine! Viva La Huntington!
Education: An effective public education campaign must focus on our need to change inappropriate behavior. An educational public service advertising campaign plan with a litter abatement theme will engage people who litter and mishandle trash, with a deliberate message to be more responsible and respectful. The new program will educate Huntington residents and visitors that this behavior is wrong, and the billboards and public service announcements will serve as notice that enforcement will follow, beginning on a date certain.
Enforcement: To be successful, this anti-litter campaign will include an appropriate level of enforcement as a deterrent to littering behavior. Citation Officers who observe littering acts will issue citations to individuals.The City of Huntington will train 40 community volunteers living in the 13 recognized neighborhoods, who will have authorization to issue litter citations. The new citation officers will focus their administrative citations on individuals who actually litter, result in the levying of fines that will lead to behavior change. These citations will encourage respectful behavior, simply by the financial consequences of the illegal act.
Abatement: The long-term challenge continues to focus on the City of Huntington’s Department of Public Works’ ability to respond more often and more quickly to the rising number of litter complaints and requests for enforcement. An ever-expanding trash and litter abatement collaboration will nurture a proactive response by property owners, tenants, landlords, property owners, government agencies and government-funded agencies, while stressing the need to keep the areas at, or around, their localities clean and litter free.
The goal of an ongoing educational campaign and a consistent enforcement effort is to regain Huntington's prior reputation as a clean and physically attractive community. The overall litter abatement strategy is to create a public awareness of the negative impact of litter and scattered solid waste. This will lead to a dramatically expanded public and private participation in eliminating street and alley litter, and/or sponsored cleaning activities, rather than waiting for the limited resources of the City of Huntington’s Public Works Department to respond.
Litter shames us all. The time is now - It is time to reclaim the pride of our hometown. Remember, together we can accomplish anything we can imagine! Viva La Huntington!
posted C. Richard Cobb, Sr. @9:19 PM 
