THE ISSUE

In its ongoing campaign against litter, Keep Columbia County Beautiful recently opted to take part in the Clean Community Challenge.

The program was started in 2006 by Gov. Sonny Perdue's office and the state Department of Community Affairs.

The only other area county taking part in the challenge is Lincoln, according to the Department of Community Affairs' Web site.

REQUIREMENTS

To take part in the Clean Community Challenge, Keep Columbia County Beautiful Coordinator Jenny Hinton said, the county must comply with some state requirements -- create a focus group, perform a litter index, compile a litter-attitude survey and post the results, and implement a litter-prevention program.

Ms. Hinton hopes to develop a 15-person focus group to discuss the county's litter problem. Those interested in participating should call Ms. Hinton at (706) 312-7195.

From the focus group, Ms. Hinton intends to formulate a committee to establish a litter index of Columbia County -- essentially a map of problem litter areas in the county. GPS units and digital cameras were provided to participants in a Clean Community Challenge workshop in Atlanta to use in creating the index.

"A group of us will spend some time driving around the county and documenting where we find problem litter areas on the GPS," Ms. Hinton said. "We'll also take public input on where there are some problem areas."

Public input will be crucial to compiling a litter-attitude survey. Ms. Hinton said she would like to get at least 400 responses to the multiple-choice survey.

The survey likely will be conducted through the county Web site: www.columbiacountyga.gov. Once the results are posted online, county staff will post a Web page on litter awareness.

LITTER PREVENTION

The final requirement in the Clean Community Challenge is the initiation of a litter-prevention program that focuses on enforcement, education and eradication.

Keep Columbia County Beautiful has already instituted anti-litter campaigns and recently started a new program aimed at stopping cigarette litter.

Ms. Hinton said she will be using Litter It Costs You education materials to conduct workshops and outreach programs. She also intends to expand cleanup activities, as requested by the challenge. For information on the Clean Community Challenge and other anti-litter efforts, visit www.litteritcostsyou.org.

-- Columbia County Bureau Chief Donnie Fetter