Litter Bit Better Preliminary Totals

Waste Totals:
As of 8:30 a.m. on Monday, April 28, 2008:

• - 7.83 tons or 15,660 pounds of litter
• - 0.87 tons or 1,740 pounds of recyclables
• - 0.35 tons or 700 pounds of metal
• - 37 tires
  = 9.05 tons or 18,100 pounds of waste
  
  This total excludes waste hauled by Rochester Services and Rochester Public Works on Monday, April 29th and the waste collected by groups that deferred their activity to the week of April 29th due to bad weather. It also excludes the waste collected by MnDOT and Olmsted County staff and their Adopt-A-Highway volunteers during A Litter Bit Better! week.
  
  Waste Types:
• Keeping in mind that only a small fraction of the return surveys have been tabulated, here are some of the findings:
• Bottles, cans, paper, plastic, cigarette butts, and food containers/wrappers were the most commonly reported types of litter.
• There were several reports of personal hygiene products being common. In one collection area, the volunteers found condoms and a bible.
• Weird things collected this year include: a witches hat, a $100 bill, bags of dog poop, a fire hose, and a lawn mower.
  
  Volunteer Totals (based on registration information):
• 196 groups registered to collect litter.
• At the time of their registration, the estimated number of volunteers exceeded 4,000 individuals. (Many groups did not provide an estimated group size.)
• Some groups that were known to collect litter did not register.
• The final number of volunteers that actually collected litter with each group is unknown.
• School groups comprised about 45% of the volunteers, with Mayo High School topping the charts at about 1,000 students. Other schools that had large groups included Elton Hills Elementary, Kellog Middle School, Gage Elementary, Adam Abdulle Academy, John Marshall High School, and RCTC/UCR staff and students.
• Large numbers of volunteers came from other organized groups: 26 girl and boy scout groups, 6 church groups, and 9 neighborhood associations.
• Charter Communication and Custom Alarm were the largest business groups.
• The Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce had several staff members collect during the Litter Bit Better week
  
  Interesting Tid-bits:
• For the first time, volunteers collected litter “on-the-water” in canoes and kayaks.
• Many groups organized to collect litter long before A Litter Bit Better! began in 2007. For instance, the Kutzky Park Neighborhood Association has been gathering to collect litter twice a year for about 10 years. They adjusted their schedule to be a part of A Litter Bit Better!
  
  Final Event Statistics will be posted at www.rneighbors.org/litterbitbetter by mid-May and in the June addition of the Chamber Advantage newsletter.