{"id":8033,"date":"2026-01-26T15:16:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T15:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/26\/litter-audit-shows-decrease-across-midlands-roadways\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T15:16:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T15:16:11","slug":"litter-audit-shows-decrease-across-midlands-roadways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/26\/litter-audit-shows-decrease-across-midlands-roadways\/","title":{"rendered":"Litter Audit Shows Decrease Across Midlands Roadways"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"191\" data-end=\"412\">Each year, <strong data-start=\"202\" data-end=\"239\">Keep the Midlands Beautiful (KMB)<\/strong> conducts a four-day audit measuring the amount of visible litter along roadways in <strong data-start=\"323\" data-end=\"358\">Lexington and Richland counties<\/strong>, and recent results show a decrease in litter levels.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"414\" data-end=\"685\">Known as the <strong data-start=\"427\" data-end=\"453\">Community Litter Index<\/strong>, the audit is conducted by a six-person team with assistance from program partners, board members, and volunteers. Since <strong data-start=\"575\" data-end=\"583\">2022<\/strong>, the same <strong data-start=\"594\" data-end=\"642\">123 road segments across 11 geographic areas<\/strong> have been observed and evaluated annually.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"687\" data-end=\"909\">The roads and areas were randomly selected with support from each county&rsquo;s <strong data-start=\"762\" data-end=\"801\">Geographic Information System (GIS)<\/strong> teams. Beginning in <strong data-start=\"822\" data-end=\"830\">2027<\/strong>, a new set of locations will be selected and observed over a five-year period.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"911\" data-end=\"1008\">Litter levels are evaluated using a <strong data-start=\"947\" data-end=\"967\">four-point scale<\/strong> developed by <strong data-start=\"981\" data-end=\"1007\">Keep America Beautiful<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1010\" data-end=\"1374\">\n<li data-start=\"1010\" data-end=\"1101\">\n<p data-start=\"1012\" data-end=\"1101\"><strong data-start=\"1012\" data-end=\"1017\">1<\/strong> &ndash; Virtually no litter, or one to two pieces in an area equivalent to a city block<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1102\" data-end=\"1175\">\n<p data-start=\"1104\" data-end=\"1175\"><strong data-start=\"1104\" data-end=\"1109\">2<\/strong> &ndash; Slightly littered; could be cleaned in a short period of time<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1176\" data-end=\"1266\">\n<p data-start=\"1178\" data-end=\"1266\"><strong data-start=\"1178\" data-end=\"1183\">3<\/strong> &ndash; Litter is frequently noticeable and would require considerable effort to clean<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1267\" data-end=\"1374\">\n<p data-start=\"1269\" data-end=\"1374\"><strong data-start=\"1269\" data-end=\"1274\">4<\/strong> &ndash; Continuous litter, possibly including illegal dump sites; equipment may be required for removal<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gpstrianglenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Liter-Audit_2026_630x350.jpg?w=1440\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1376\" data-end=\"1742\">From <strong data-start=\"1381\" data-end=\"1402\">2022 through 2024<\/strong>, audits were conducted in <strong data-start=\"1429\" data-end=\"1437\">June<\/strong>, when tall grass often obscured litter. Beginning in <strong data-start=\"1491\" data-end=\"1499\">2025<\/strong>, the audit was moved to <strong data-start=\"1524\" data-end=\"1535\">January<\/strong>, when grass is lower and litter is more visible, allowing for a more realistic assessment of roadside conditions. KMB notes that this seasonal change makes direct comparisons to previous years less precise.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1744\" data-end=\"2014\">Those interested in helping reduce litter in Lexington or Richland counties through <strong data-start=\"1828\" data-end=\"1872\">volunteering, donations, or sponsorships<\/strong> are encouraged to contact <strong data-start=\"1899\" data-end=\"1930\">Keep the Midlands Beautiful<\/strong> at <strong data-start=\"1934\" data-end=\"1956\"><a class=\"decorated-link cursor-pointer\" rel=\"noopener\" data-start=\"1936\" data-end=\"1954\">programs@kmbsc.org<\/a><\/strong>, call <strong data-start=\"1963\" data-end=\"1981\">(803) 733-1139<\/strong>, or visit <strong data-start=\"1992\" data-end=\"2013\"><a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/kmbsc.org\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener\" data-start=\"1994\" data-end=\"2011\">https:\/\/kmbsc.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Each year, Keep the Midlands Beautiful (KMB) conducts a four-day audit measuring the amount of visible litter along roadways in Lexington and Richland counties, and recent results show a decrease in litter levels. Known as the Community Litter Index, the audit is conducted by a six-person team with assistance from<span class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/26\/litter-audit-shows-decrease-across-midlands-roadways\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31],"tags":[143],"class_list":["entry","author-john-griggs","post-8033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-community-news","tag-keep-the-midlands-beautiful"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gpstrianglenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Roadside-Litter-_2026_630x350.jpg?fit=630%2C350&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8033"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8036,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8033\/revisions\/8036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}