Don’t Trash Central Virginia

If you care about the local environment, take the Don’t Trash Central Virginia pledge. 

Almost $3.5 million is spent every year cleaning up litter on Virginia’s roadways, which often washes into storm drains, potentially blocking them and polluting streams and rivers.  

To help tackle litter and keep our community clean, PlanRVA works with localities and other partners across the region through a collaborative campaign called Don’t Trash Central Virginia.  

The goals of Don’t Trash Central Virginia are to increase awareness of litter and its negative impacts in the community, build knowledge about litter prevention strategies and encourage action through participation in public clean-up opportunities. 

“Our role in this campaign is to elevate efforts happening across the region,” said Sarah Stewart, PlanRVA Planning Manager. “There are people, groups and organizations across Central Virginia working to keep the community litter-free, and we aim to bring them together. It’s encouraging to see others out there with a shared goal.” 

Don’t Trash Central Virginia launched in 2020 and relies on support from organizations like the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, which aim to support local water quality, coastal habitats, and prevent water-based (or marine) debris. 

Working Together to Keep Central Virginia Clean 

At the heart of the Don't Trash Central Virginia campaign are the members and partners that work towards the vision of a litter-free community. Locality members include the Town of Ashland; the counties of Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent and Powhatan; and the cities of

Keep Virginia Cozy clean up event on the James River in Richmond, VA. Photo source: Keep Virginia Cozy

Hopewell, Petersburg and Richmond as well as the Chickahominy Indian Tribe in Charles City and Crater PDC. Partners of the campaign include community organizations, businesses and other groups like Keep Virginia Cozy, GRTC, Ride Finders, FLOAR, and Keep Virginia Beautiful.  

Don’t Trash Central Virginia partners have access to materials that help promote the campaign and a network of like-minded individuals to collaborate with. Additional tools available include tips, messaging and a variety of approaches for utilizing community based social marketing to achieve behavioral changes to prevent litter.  

Don’t Trash Central Virginia hosts four meetings per year where partners and members can convene to provide feedback and direction on the campaign and learn about relevant topics. There is allotted time at the end of each meeting for individuals to share recent accomplishments and challenges, encouraging conversations to spark inspiration and collaboration. 

Get Involved in Don’t Trash  

Municipalities, businesses and community organizations across the region are encouraged to join the effort and can participate in a variety of ways, including educating employees, posting campaign stickers or posters, promoting the campaign on social media, organizing or supporting a cleanup effort and implementing litter-prevention strategies on their properties. 

Individual community members can also get involved by taking the Don’t Trash Central Virginia pledge. 

“Whether you’re an individual looking to get involved or part of a larger group passionate about litter prevention, we’re here to help promote the vision, provide tools and connect you to partners that will allow you to be successful,” said Stewart. 

For more information, visit https://planrva.org/environment/litter-prevention/.