May 18, 2011 (Midland) — Annual cleanups, Adopt a Spot groups, inmate cleanups, MHMR cleanups, the “Pick Up Some Trash to Pick Up Some Cash” program, better public awareness and participation and an increase in recycling are all factors given for Midland receiving a very good Community Appearance Index score.  Volunteer scorers divided Midland in to five quadrants and toured each area recently, scoring various streets on a scale of 1 through 4 on visible litter, illegal signs, graffiti, abandoned junk vehicles and outside storage.  After all scores were returned and calculated, the overall score for Midland is 1.7, up from the 1.6 score from 2010.  Scorers gave the areas with virtually no litter a 1, a 2 if a small amount of litter was obvious, a 3 when litter was readily visible and would likely require an organized effort for removal and a 4 if a continuous amount of litter was seen requiring extra manpower for removal.  This survey is done annually by Keep Midland Beautiful and is a tool developed by Keep American Beautiful (KAB) to indicate litter and  community appearance trends.

The "appearance" index for Midland was given a 1.3 overall, meaning illegal signs, graffiti, abandoned junk vehicles and outside storage were seen very little.

Keep Midland Beautiful was part of a KAB pilot program in 2008 that enhanced the Litter Index in to a Community Appearance Index.  In addition to the litter evaluation, areas with abandoned/junk vehicles, illegal signs, illegal dumps/open storage, and graffiti were scored also.

Visually assessing the community is an essential part of the education planning process. Involving community representatives from neighborhoods, businesses and government in the process is important to achieve partnership solutions and to promote individual responsibility, ownership and pride in results. The data gathered by conducting the Index helps determine the litter prevention and community improvement programs to implement locally and assists Keep Midland Beautiful in identifying trends related to community appearance.

Keep Midland Beautiful educates and engages Midlanders in litter prevention, beautification and waste management.  For more information on our projects, programs and membership, visit our website at www.keepmidlandbeautiful.org.