Giving Green to Keep Boone County Green
Boone County will soon be handing out cash for roadside trash! Starting April 1st, federally recognized non-profit groups in Boone County will be able to sign-up to clean roadways in the county and make $100 per mile for their efforts. The County will work with the non-profit organization to choose a roadway and then provide it with a safety training session, gloves, safety vests, bags, and assistance in removing the filled bags from the roadway. And then of course, the non-profit will receive funds to support their organization! After cleaning the roadside, the non-profit group will be asked to submit a letter to the editor of a local newspaper to relate their experiences. To get involved, non-profit groups should simply call Boone County Solid Waste at (859) 334-3151 or email Becky Haltermon at bhaltermon@boonecountyky.org.
Quotes from Real, Actual Trash for Cash Participants:
"We were reminded and shown the importance of keeping our county clean."
- Sandy Rogers, Belleview Baptist Church Girls-In-Action
"One memorable quote came from Martin Murphy, ’I can’t even imagine how much litter there is in the world, this is just one street.’… How do we fight litter and eliminate the need for programs like this? The answer is simple, everyone does their part. What does that mean? Well, it doesn’t even mean that everyone has to pickup litter, thy only have to not litter. Stop the litter Boone County!"
- Andrew Koehler, Northern Kentucky Young Life
"We feel that this was a special day of bonding, not only as a cheerleading team, but as a group of individuals that now have a better appreciation of the environment and of our community. We now are not only representatives of Boone County High School as Cheerleaders; we also represent Boone County, our community as a ’Litter-Free Environment.’"
- Jenny Robbins, Boone County High School Cheerleading
"Littering is honestly a lazy problem that needs to be addressed so litterbugs, think about our environment! Do you throw things on the floor at home? Of course not. So, why litter up America?"
- Julie Clark, New Life Tabernacle
"It has been said, ’You can judge a society by looking at the condition of its roads.’ I hope that is not true after looking at the type of garbage that was picked up and the amount that was accumulated … Litter in Kentucky is not acceptable and thankfully, this program helped teenagers realize the impact is has on the community and its appearance. If a small group of teenagers can take the time to pick up much of our own trash, we all must ask ourselves, ’What can I do for my community?’"
- Jonathan Averdick, Northern Kentucky Young Life
"It was beyond alarming to see, up close, just how much trash litters our roads! … Several girls vocalized their frustration at lazy people who make the wrong choice and litter."
- Rebekah Duchette, Girl Scout Brownie Troop # 43
"The amount of beer cans and bottles is disgusting. Are these people driving around drunk when throwing when throwing them out? these people need to start thinking about the others they are putting in danger by doing this. This is our land and community our grandchildren will raise their children in. If we keep littering, imagine how it will get!"
- Tracy Smith, Girl Scout Brownie Troop # 125
"We collected 74 bags of garbage! That didn’t include the thousands of cigarette butts! I couldn’t imagine how long it would take or haw many garbage bags we would have filled if we would have picked them up. That is too much garbage! Do we realize what that is doing to our environment? … It is time to keep our community clean. It is time for change."
- Jennifer Metcalf, 220 Youth Ministries of the Gathering Place Church
"It was almost unbelievable … I found that someone had just pitched a McDonald’s bag right where we had just been! I though that people collecting trash should legally be allowed to try to give the trash back to the passers–by, but felt that it would be uncivilized to throw trash at cars."
- Peter Raber, Northern Kentucky Young Life
"If there is any way that we could get the message out to the community of Boone County to take a little time to clean our river banks, that is one step we could take to make our environment a little more livable for everyone, including our wildlife."
- Tammy Conradi, Girl Scout Troop 689
"People think throwing one little pop can by the roadside won’t matter. But these volunteers were filling trash bags and proving differently."
- Melba Baur, Boone County Pee Wee Football League Razorbacks Team
"When asked what the most important thing they learned was, Kylan Gall (11 years old) responded, ’Don’t throw trash on the ground because other people will have to spend their day picking it up.’ Michael Grandstaff (11 years old) says, ’I’ll think twice before I litter. I’ll always remember this day I spent picking up trash.’ Austin Gerhardt (11 years old) says, ’I feel really good about cleaning up the roads and making it nicer for everybody in the community.’"
- Kim Briedis, Boone County Pee Wee Football League Panther Team
"The Scouts that attended the cleanup were particularly moved by the public reaxtion that they received from passing motorists, many of whom slowed to offer a quick word of support. They marveled at the (honestly) thousands of cigarette butts littering the highway, and more than one youth made a connection with the wildfires currently burning in the Southeast."
- Barry Akins, Boy Scout Troop # 805
