Motivation.

There were six major motivating factors that inspired the creation of the "Yes! Yes! We Can Stop Littering" program. These factors were:

1. Litter is costly and the opportunity cost is even greater. According to the NCDOT, volunteers picked up 4.3 million pounds of litter at a cost of 5.5 million taxpayer dollars. This represented a 50% increase since the mid '90s. The trend is increasing. (The Charlotte Observer), April 8, 2001. These human hours and tax dollars could be saved and redirected toward education, healthcare, homelessness, elderly care or other quality of life issues.
2. Litter is unhealthy for all living things. The decomposition of debris and hazardous waste could eventually poison the food chain and water supply for plants, animals and humans.
3. Litter is a negative selling point for our state in an effort to improve economic growth. North Carolina spends millions of dollars each year attracting commercial ventures, the movie industry, tourists and retirees to our state to relocate and spend dollars supporting economic growth. Littering places this effort at risk.
4. Litter is unsafe and can hurt anyone traveling on our state highway system. Fallen debris and blown out tires create highway hazards.
5. Litter is a part of the global pollution problem. One Life! One Planet!
6. There is a need to instill pride, caring and responsibility at an early age for maintaining a clean and healthy environment. Our future survival as a species may depend on it.

The major targeted group of 2,200 third graders in public, charter and private schools represents students who are beginning to form opinions about the world in which they live. At an average age of eight years old, these students are able to understand the major concepts of littering and pollution. Awareness and magnitude of the problem will be explored through the research of various forms of litter and its impact on the environment. This knowledge will be used to write news articles. These activities will help to shape negative opinions and attitudes concerning litter and pollution. Litter journals and campus and neighborhood cleanup campaigns will be used to record and graph the various types of litter. Classroom activities such as the Pollution Solution Puzzle will highlight the problem. (See Classroom Educational Material) Classroom teachers have been given the authority to develop their own creative exercises for this project. Such activities should produce behavior modification. Over the course of five years using 2,200 as an average, approximately 11,000 students will be touched. Additional high school students and parents/guardians will be educated about the problem through the news article contests.

School officials, teachers, parents, guardians and students will be made aware through promotional litter bags filled with T-shirts and "stop littering" promotional items. These numbers also dramatically increase over the next five years.

Small businesses and corporations have also contributed money for awards and promotional items for the litterbags. Some corporate contributors have been targeted because they produce by-products used to litter. Examples are the soft drink and fast food industries. The number of companies participating will also increase over the next five years.

Finally, 20,000 plus households will receive information concerning the program through publicity and media coverage. These numbers are also expected to increase during the next five years.

The overall program in its first year is designed to bring about awareness through knowledge of the problem. This knowledge with the "hand-on" activities will bring about modified behavior.