Keep Georgetown Beautiful

Frequently Asked Questions

LITTER:

Q: With all the pressing problems in Georgetown and the world, why should I worry about litter?

A: Litter is an indicator of our community's health. Wilson and Kelling make the proposition that litter is like the broken window in a building. If the broken window is not fixed, soon another window is broken, and another, and eventually the building deteriorates beyond repair. Litter is like the first broken window in that building. When we clean up litter and learn to prevent it we develop respectful and caring behavior, and a greater sense of ownership and involvement in our community. It becomes a safe and beautiful community that provides a better quality of life for residents and appeals to businesses, tourism and ongoing economic development.

Back to top

Q: Where does litter come from?

A: Keep America Beautiful, Inc., has been studying littering since 1954. Their research shows that these are the sources of litter:

1. Household garbage (in the City of Georgetown, at least half of our litter comes right out of our own garbage cans)
2. Uncovered loads (this is the number one source in Georgetown County, in part because residents carry their household garbage to drop-off convenience centers), including 18-wheelers and family pickup trucks and don't forget boats on trailers!
3. Commercial dumpsters
4. Commercial loading zones
5. Motorists
6. Pedestrians
7. Construction sites (interestingly, most of the litter coming from construction sites is not building debris, but waste from workers' lunches)

Back to top

Q: Why do people litter?

A: Again, Keep America Beautiful research provides some answers. Their studies of human behavior show that there are three "behavioral norms", or situations in which littering seems to be the approved action:

1. Where litter has already accumulated (often people note what they call the "litter magnet" effect that litter seems to attract more litter. This is the reason.)
2. Where someone else will pick up after them
3. Where people feel no sense of ownership

Back to top

RECYCLING

Q: Why didn't they pick up all the recycling I put out in my bin?

A: The Recycling Crew leaves items that can't be recycled in Georgetown. See our website section on recycling to review what can and can't be recycled here.

Back to top

Q: But the materials they left have the recycle symbol on them!

A: The recycle symbol doesn't necessarily mean that the item can be recycled in Georgetown. Local recycling markets determine what we can recycle in our community. If there is no local market for the item, then we can't recycle it and it has to go into the landfill. The only way to know what you can recycle in Georgetown is to go by the list. See our web page on recycling for up-to-date information.

Back to top

Q: What happens to the things I put in my recycling bin?

A: All recycling collected at the curb in the City of Georgetown is delivered to the Georgetown County Landfill, where it goes to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF, pronounced "Murph"). At the MRF, the first step is to separate all the paper recycling from the rest. Paper is baled and sold to manufacturers who make products from it. Look for this symbol when you are buying paper, to close the recycling loop by buying recycled.

Back to top

Q: Why should I bother to go to all the trouble to recycle?

A: Here are just two of the many arguments in favor of recycling:

1. Recycling steel provides a valuable scrap resource to the steel industry. Using old steel to make new steel also preserves natural resources and energy. For every ton of steel recycled, 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone are conserved. And in a year, the steel industry conserves the equivalent energy to power about 18 million homes for 12 months. 
2. It saves expensive landfill space. New requirements to protect our health by protecting the groundwater supplies have made landfills very expensive to build. Georgetown built a new landfill in 1998 at a cost of $4 million of our tax dollars. The longer it lasts, the longer it will be before we have to pay for a new one.

Back to top

BEAUTIFICATION

Q: Who plants the flowers on the Georgetown Harborwalk?

A: Volunteers. The planters on the Harborwalk are all "adopted" by volunteers, individuals, civic organizations and businesses who are interested in the beautiful appearance of our town. Volunteers provide the plants and care for them. Each planter is the unique creation of its volunteer "adopter". Keep Georgetown Beautiful provides the planter and a plaque recognizing the volunteer.

Back to top