MARYVILLE (WATE) - Keep Blount Beautiful launched a litter prevention education contest Monday to help create a cleaner community.
The contest asks, "What do you think is wrong too?" The winning entry will be featured on the Blount County Great American CleanUp T-shirt this year, along with the winner's name. The cleanup runs from March 1 to June 10.
Residents can write their own "wrongs" and showcase them in photos and videos that will be featured on the campaign website, www.LitteringisWrongToo.org.
There are several ways to submit an entry. Like the Keep Blount Beautiful Facebook page and submit there.
You can also enter on www.keepblountbeautiful.org, email keepblo@earthlink.net or call 865-681-4809.
The submission deadline is February 17.
The top 10 entries will be displayed at www.keepblountbeautiful.org on February 20. Residents will have one week to vote on their favorite.
"Sadly, many still don't view litter as a real problem. They don't understand that litter has a real and serious economic impact on a community, in addition to the environmental fallout," said Matthew McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., in a press release.
"For example, a recent KAB study found that litter in a community can decrease property values by 7 percent. We're hoping to engage people through this campaign and, in that process, get them to recognize that littering is a real problem, but a preventable one," McKenna added.
KAB developed the Littering is Wrong Too campaign for affiliates across the country after a successful test pilot last summer in Cincinnati.
Residents can write their own "wrongs" and showcase them in photos.
