Litter Index

What is the Litter Index?

Volunteer Opportunities

Thank you for showing interest in the Litter Index. We appreciate the 98 volunteers who gave of their time to make our 10th Anniversary Litter Index possible. We look forward to sharing the 2010 Litter Index survey results with you in the near future. If you are interested in participating in next year's Litter Index, please contact Melanie Allen at 816-561-1061, ext. 107 or melanie.allen@bridgingthegap.org.

 “I have worked in the community for several years, especially with neighborhood organizations in cleaning around their immediate area. However, the experience from the Litter Index project was beneficial in assisting me in seeing the problem holistically. I could not believe how some neighborhoods have become illegal dump sites – not one or two blocks but an entire community. This experience was a charge for me to get more involved in making a difference, one block at a time.” ~ Liz Gray, Litter Index Volunteer

2009 Litter Index Reveals Cleaner Neighborhoods

In the nine year history of the Keep Kansas City Beautiful Litter Index, a survey of the amount of litter in Kansas City, Missouri, the City attained the lowest level of litter to date. In 2009, the City’s overall litter level decreased to 1.39 from 1.50 in 2008 Litter Index survey. 13 neighborhood clusters improved their litter level and 13 stayed the same. Originally developed by Keep America Beautiful, the Litter Index is a tool that Keep Kansas City Beautiful (KKCB) and other communities across the nation use to evaluate and guide litter prevention efforts.

Each year, KKCB and volunteers conduct the Litter Index, a litter survey covering a random sample of 10 percent of all blocks in Kansas City, Missouri. Neighborhoods, government and community partners use the survey results to evaluate and guide litter prevention, abatement and education efforts.

Keep Kansas City Beautiful appreciates the 330 volunteer hours given by the 71 volunteers who assisted with the 2009 Litter Index. Our partners at the University of Missouri – Kansas City Center for Economic Information evaluated the information and helped us provide the results shown here.

The survey areas are designated as 34 clusters, each cluster containing multiple neighborhoods. The first level of analysis indicates that 13 clusters are significantly cleaner, 13 stayed the same, and eight are more littered than last year.

While some areas improved and show the positive impact of litter cleanup and prevention, others indicate a need for continued efforts. KKCB plans to look closely at these results, as well as other variables, to better understand the causes of these changes.
In addition to the Kansas City, Missouri Litter Index, KKCB partnered with Kansas City, Kansas to complete a 2009 Litter Index with the Kansas City, Kansas Downtown Shareholders. The survey was done on four neighborhood clusters in which 172 blocks were surveyed.

The Kansas City, Kansas Litter Index was evaluated on a slightly different scale. This survey scale uses color markings to identify where blocks have no litter or are heavily littered. Of the 172 blocks surveyed in the four neighborhood clusters, 71 blocks were litter free, 87 were slightly littered, nine were littered and five were extremely littered.

Although the Kansas City, Kansas survey indicated many blocks were litter free, the majority of the blocks surveyed could benefit from litter prevention efforts such as neighborhood clean-ups, recycling and waste reduction education and sustainable beautification information.

Litter Index Results

Thanks to the UMKC Center for Econonic Information, you can access results for your neighborhood by simply clicking on the files below:

Kansas City, Missouri Litter Index Results 2003-2009 (Adobe Acrobat Reader required.)

Kansas City, Kansas Litter Index Results 2009 (Adobe Acrobat Reader required.)

Lee's Summit, Missouri Litter Index Results 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader required.)

Keep Kansas City Beautiful is an affiliate of Bridging The Gap, a Kansas City-based environmental education and action organization.