Clean City Things to Know and Do! Hampton City Update, Community Cleanups, Seed Swap, Community Appearance Index, Virtual Hampton 101, Household Chemical Collection
NEWS YOU CAN USE!
Jan. 12, 2020 - As COVID-19 rates continue to increase in Hampton and the region, Hampton city offices will begin to require appointments for residents and others...… Read on
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START THE NEW YEAR OFF RIGHT WITH MONTHLY COMMUNITY CLEANUPS!
Start the New Year right joining us on Saturdays, 10am, for Community Cleanups (weather permitting). The goal is to keep those heavily-trashed spaces clean and beautiful year-round, and to educate surrounding communities on the importance of litter abatement. The next cleanup will be Saturday, January 23, along Barrack Street. If you’d like to participate, please register with HCCC Program Assistant Cris Ausink at causink@hampton.gov. Once registered, cleanup details will be provided. Please note that group size is limited to 10 or less. We look forward to you joining us!
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YOU CAN HELP OUR BEES AND OTHER POLLINATORS THIS WINTER!
Our Bee City USA - Hampton team has created beautiful pollinator seed packets available now at the HCCC office! The mix includes native perennial pollinator plant seeds along with a mix of zinnia, cosmos and marigold seeds. The packets are available for a suggested donation of $3. Please call HCCC at 757-727-1130 to schedule your visit to the office!
For more information on native plants, visit our web page at https://hampton.gov/3762/Pollinators#idealpollinator.
VIRTUAL SEED SWAP HAS STARTED! SIGN UP CONTINUES!
Our virtual seed swap will be done by email and mail. HCCC Staff will coordinate participants and their seeds so each participant receives at least 6 packets of vegetable and/or flower seeds by January 30. If you don’t have seeds, you can still participate! Sign up by Jan 19 and get a head start on Spring! https://hampton.gov/FormCenter/Hampton-Boards-Commissions-Committees-5/Community-Garden-Event-Registration-Form-132
For more info, email wendy.iles@hampton.gov or check out our Facebook Event page at https://www.facebook.com/HamptonVAcommunitygardens/
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HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL & COMPUTER RECYCLING COLLECTIONS 2021
The Virginia Peninsula Public Service Authority has just released its 2021 calendar for chemical collections and computer recycling. You may find out dates, times, sites, and what may be accepted for collection at www.vppsa.org or by calling 757-259-9850.
GIVE THE GIFT OF CLEAN WATER - PET WASTE IS LITTER TOO!
When walking your pet, take along a plastic bag. You can buy them from the pet store or reuse lunch or grocery bags. When your pet “goes”, pick up the poop with the bag, enclose it, and take it to the nearest trash can, or back to your trash can.
Be a good pet person, a good neighbor, and a good citizen and pick up your pet’s waste, whether it happens in public areas during walks or in your back yard. Your efforts will keep our local environment cleaner and fresher smelling. And all of us will be grateful to you.
If you have family or friends that need education about pet waste, we have pet waste disposal kits available – what a great stocking stuffer!!!
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2020 COMMUNITY APPEARANCE INDEX – LITTER RESULTS
Many of you may know that last year’s annual Community Appearance Litter Index had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. However, before Debbie left, she was able to create a virtual litter index tour that volunteers were able to view and rate online. Well, the scores have been tabulated and are listed below, including additional comments from our participants. Many thanks to Lauren Chambers, George Curran, Belinda Denson, Kathy Rogers, Elizabeth Shaver, Jim Wandling, Marie Whytsell, and Eve Xu, for their participation in this year’s virtual litter index tour.
Ten area districts were reviewed, with each district having 10 sub-areas. Averages and a scoring key are below. We look forward to returning to the actual tour this year and hope you will be a part of this important event.
DISTRICT | TDS |
1 | 1.24 |
2 | 1.48 |
3 | 1.30 |
4 | 1.33 |
5 | 1.51 |
6 | 1.49 |
7 | 1.46 |
8 | 1.45 |
9 | 1.45 |
10 | 1.48 |
Avg Overall Score | 1.42 |
Comments:
“Virtual index was a good idea, but using a drone might provide better coverage.”
“Somehow we need to impress on people that this is their responsibility.”
“Would the City consider establishing a king of ‘litter corps’ that would pay kids a minimum wage for a certain number of hours/week for performing cleanups?”
“The outcome is higher than I expected since most of my responses were ‘1’.”
“On days where the sun was out but it had rained, it was difficult to determine whether it was a piece of white litter or a small puddle with the sun shining on it, or maybe reflections on the windshield.”
Scoring Key
1 = No litter; virtually no litter; any seen could be collected quickly by one person
2 = Slightly littered; small amount of litter could be easily collected by one/two persons in short period of time; eye not ‘grabbed’ by litter items
3 = Littered; visible litter readily seen through sub-area(s); requires cleanup effort
4 = Extremely littered; continuous amount of litter; illegal dumpsters, requires equipment and considerable manpower to remove
HERE’S HOW TO RECYCLE YOUR PLASTIC BAGS & OTHER FILM PLASTICS!
Plastic bags and plastic wraps of different kinds ARE recyclable, but they have to be taken to a drop-off site, most of which are retail locations that you might already be visiting. For more information and a list of plastic bag recycling sites: https://hampton.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=4565.
Many organizations around Hampton are participating in either the Kroger challenge (schools) or the Trex challenge (Community Gardens, Master Gardeners). They would welcome your clean, dry plastic bags!
When they are littered, as far too many are, they blow or wash into our waterways and then into the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, where sea turtles think they’re jellyfish and other marine animals get tangled up in them. And they can get tangled around boat propellers as well. So, PLEASE - DO NOT LITTER anything - especially plastic bags!
For more information, contact Hampton Clean City Commission at hccc@hampton.gov or 757-727-1130.
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HAMPTON SOLID WASTE COLLECTION
Solid Waste employees pick up household waste, yard waste, scrap metals and bulky items from residences weekly within the City of Hampton. Household recycling is collected every other week.
Find out your pickup days
Check out this map, or get address-specific information by visiting the GIS website:
Type your street number and street name, then click the "search" button.
Click on your search results.
Go to the tab that says "City Resources."
Recycling is collected every other week, marked as "blue" and "green" weeks on this calendar (PDF). This map (PDF) shows the blue/green areas. Click on this link to find out what can be recycled https://hampton.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14663/Acceptable-Recyclables-Information?bidId=
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LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY - SIGN UP NOW FOR VIRTUAL HAMPTON 101
Find out what makes Hampton unique, livable and a great place to call home during a virtual Hampton 101 on Jan. 23 from 9 a.m.-noon. Spend time with some of the city's top leaders - including City Manager Mary Bunting, Police Chief Terry Sult, and Hampton City Schools Deputy Superintendent Dr. John Caggiano - and learn valuable and exciting information about Hampton. Class size is limited, so [hampton.us2.list-manage.com]register [hampton.us2.list-manage.com] [hampton.us2.list-manage.com]online now.
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WHICH RECYCLING SUPERHERO ARE YOU?
Our environmental partners at askHR Green have created a great recycling quiz that lets you test your recycling knowledge. Want to try it? Just click on https://askhrgreen.org/gtk-gtd/start-smart/ and claim your cape!!
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WAYS TO SUPPORT HCCC PROGRAMS
Did you know that HCCC accepts donations that support our programs? They are:
Bee City USA – Hampton: this fund supports Hampton’s Bee City USA program, including planting pollinator gardens and buying supplies for educational programs.
Hampton Waterways Restoration Project: this fund supports waterway education and action projects, like oyster gardens, living shorelines, and educational materials.
Keep Hampton Green: this fund purchases trees and shrubs that are planted on public lands in Hampton. Most recently it paid for plantings at Bluebird Gap Farm and Armistead Pointe.
To donate to these funds, make your check payable to City of Hampton and put a note naming the fund you wish to support. Charitable contributions to governmental units are tax-deductible under section 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code if made for a public purpose.
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FOR REFERENCE
CONNECT WITH HCCC IN 2021:
HCCC’s Facebook page serves as an information source for all things “clean city” – beautification, community environment improvement, litter prevention, recycling, the 3Rs, and general environmental education. We share reputable information about these topics and provide information about our programs, activities, and volunteers. If you want a good overview of what’s happening in Hampton and the larger world of our topics of interest, the Hampton Clean City Commission page is a can’t-miss sign-up! Follow us on Instagram or Twitter, too, to help share information about topics that are important to you. By the way, have you been to the HCCC web page at https://hampton.gov/179/Clean-City-Commission?
CHECK OUT THE BEE CITY USA – HAMPTON WEB PAGE!
Check out the information and resources on our new Bee City USA - Hampton web page! We hope you'll find it a useful source of information and support in your efforts to support Hampton's pollinators! https://hampton.gov/3759/Bee-City-USA
Hampton Community Gardens Check out the Community Gardens web page at https://hampton.gov/2798/Community-Gardens. Community Gardens has a wonderful Facebook page with great information about all things garden related. “Like” it at https://www.facebook.com/HamptonVAcommunitygardens.
HCCC sponsors two Facebook groups
The Hampton Waterways Restoration Project Group focuses on the HWRP Committee’s efforts to improve Hampton’s waterways through awareness and action projects. Among the posts you’ll see are reports on committee oyster activities, waterway cleanup announcements, information about various impacts on water quality, and volunteer reports on their various HWRP projects.
The Bee City USA – Hampton Group focuses on building a resilient habitat for bees and other pollinators. You’ll see educational posts about pollinators of various types, the plants they thrive on, how you can support a sustainable pollinator habitat, and occasionally cool educational resources.
Did you know that you can do your part in “Keeping Hampton Clean & Beautiful”? How?
Hampton Clean City Commission | O: 757-727-1130 | hccc@hampton.gov
