Keep Topeka/Shawnee County Beautiful

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Litter Index

Keep America Beautiful affiliates often say that looking at litter is the place to begin empowering individuals to enhance their community environments. Assessing the presence of litter in your community—getting the facts—is the first step in the litter prevention education process.The Keep America Beautiful Litter Index makes litter prevention easier. It is a credible and simple tool that allows quick and reliable visual assessment of the types of litter present in your community. The data obtained through the Litter Index is invaluable in determining the types of community improvement programs needed to address current conditions, and achieve long-term sustainable results.

The Litter Index is designed to measure progress over time. It helps identify what is effective—and what isn't—in positively changing littering attitudes and behaviors and related community improvement issues. Consistent use of the Litter Index on an annual basis can help track overall progress in reducing litter, and can quantitatively express success in community improvement.Keep America Beautiful realizes that no two communities are exactly alike, and no single improvement plan will address all the needs of every community. The Litter Index has been designed to be flexible and allow for individual judgment in making choices appropriate for local circumstances. Summary of Areas:

Area 1	Area 2	Area 3	Area 4	Area 5	Average of Area Scores
NW Co Rural/Ag	NE Co Rural/Ag	SW Co Rural/Ag	SE Co Rural/Ag	Greater Topeka
1	1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.06

In the Spotlight

This part of our new website will be dedicated to featuring businesses or individuals who follow good environmental practices. If you would like to see your business featured here, or if you would like to honor an individual for their best environmental efforts who give back to this community, please send information to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Metal Scrappers

The following individuals will come to your house to pick up all metal free of charge:

Kathy & Ronnie 354-1810

Blanche--640-5944 All appliances and metal, small charge for basements and inside pick ups.

Bobby Harris 233-0104

Bernie Bower 235-5205

Best Buy, 1600 SW Wanamaker, 272-1353

Hours: M-Thu., 10am-9pm, F-Sat., 10am-10pm, Sun., 10am-7pm Ni-Cd Batteries, nickel metal hydride batteries, lithium ion batteries, small sealed lead batteries (>2 lbs), rechargeable batteries, telephones, ink cartridges, televisions and computers with a $10 fee, but you receive a $10 gift card to the store.

K-State Research and Extension Office

1740 SW Western Avenue

Topeka, KS 66604-3095

785-232-0062

K-State Research and Extension Office has free compost bins available. They are for Shawnee County residents only and are available through their office, one per household ( not for resale ). The Shawnee County Recycling Department supplies our participating nurseries with the compost bins. Shawnee County residents come into our office between the hours of 8 to 5, Monday through Friday and fill out a sheet for the bin, take a copy of that to their participating nurseries.

Soil tests - They also have a grant from the Shawnee County Conservation District that covers one lawn or garden routine soil test per fiscal year as long as the land is in Shawnee County and as long as the grant lasts.

Mayor Bunten

“Keep America Beautiful is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to cleaning up our city. Their contribution to our public efforts that include neighborhood cleanups, the removal of unnecessary public signage and using inmate work crews in our parks, low-income neighborhoods and city streets is significant, and their involvement is an important ingredient in the success we are experiencing.

I acknowledge the importance of this organization that provides a point of contact to those who are prepared to get involved in recapturing and restoring the natural beauty of this city from the urban clutter that today detracts from that beauty.”

This program is funded in part through the use of funds provided by the City of Topeka