BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — The Blount County Mayor's Office is being blunt about the county's litter problem and organized a new initiative to keep the county clean.
It is called the "Be Blount — Be Better" initiative and involves several community organizations such as the Keep Blount Beautiful, the Cities of Maryville and Alcoa, the Blount County Sheriff's Office and the Alcoa-Maryville-Blount County Landfill.
Together, community leaders will raise awareness about the problems litter can cause while also cracking down on litterers. They will also provide more opportunities for residents to volunteer with local agencies for cleanups.
Officials said that as the county has grown, litter has become a more prevalent problem. Mayor Ed Mitchell's office also said that they received more calls recently about litter, which inspired the campaign.
“We want to respond to concerned citizens and work with other agencies to address a problem that people are seeing as they drive around the county,” he said.
Officials also said they will work with law enforcement to ticket people who violate littering laws. Keep Blount Beautiful is also accepting registrations for anyone who wants to volunteer for a cleanup.