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Litter
Index Results
All Keep America Beautiful affiliates are required to conduct an
annual litter assessment of randomly selected areas of the
communities they serve. The survey, called the Litter Index,
must be conducted each year in the same areas at approximately
the same time of year. In 2000, KKB elected to use Knoxville's
Empowerment Zone as its survey area. Streets and blocks in each
of the six Empowerment Zone ZACs were randomly selected for the
survey. The general areas of the streets and blocks are
reflected on the survey results. Actual maps and scoring sheets
of the survey areas are kept at the KKB office.
In 2004 we added 6 additional "zones" and 30 more sub-areas. We
now survey all areas of the community inside the City limits of
Knoxville. There are plans to add roads in Knox County outside the
City limits of Knoxville.
Litter Index Protocols
The Litter Index is a "windshield survey" of visible litter.
Teams of volunteers and KKB staff, ranging in size from 3 to 8
people, drive through the survey area and then give the area a
score based on what they have observed. Keep America Beautiful
provides a training video and printed material to provide an
objective system for ratings. Volunteers use the following
ratings:
1 - NO LITTER -
there is virtually no litter in the neighborhood. There may be
one or two pieces visible, but it is something an individual
could clean up very easily. The area has a clean, neat
appearance and it is apparent that people care about this
area.
2 - SLIGHTLY LITTERED
- litter is something you notice, but your eye is not
constantly drawn to it. One or two people could clean up all
the litter in a short time. The area still has a generally
neat appearance, but it does need some attention.
3 - LITTERED -
litter is obvious and your eye is constantly drawn to the
litter. The area is neglected and requires an organized
cleanup. This is still something that neighborhood volunteers
could do on their own with proper supplies and a little
organization.
4 - EXTREMELY LITTERED
- Illegal dumps, dirty lots, abandoned buildings, non-running
junk vehicles area the predominant feature of the area. This
area has been neglected for a long time and needs help from
citizens and government. Heavy equipment will be required to
clean this area.
Survey Results
The scores are an average of the observations of the surveyors,
predict litter "trends" in surveyed neighborhoods and
assist in planning neighborhood improvement efforts. What
is not revealed in the scores are certain notable conditions.
For example: surveyors may give an area a 1.8 overall score, but
the actual score sheets may indicate "notable
conditions" such as dirty lots, graffiti, abandoned cars,
etc. While the overall appearance of the neighborhood is
generally good, there are some specific spots that need
attention. The "notable conditions" are not included
here.
Click here
for a chart of survey results.
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Annual Litter
Survey Results
Click
here for
a chart of all
survey results!
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