The Litter Index, also called the Community Appearance Index, is a comprehensive assessment of the overall appearance of a community using indicators such as litter, illegal signage, graffiti, and more. It is a tool designed to gather data annually by surveying a random, statistical sample of a city or town. The annual results are then used to develop a local plan to determine the types of community improvement programs needed to address current conditions, to change attitudes and behaviors towards litter behavior, and to achieve long-term sustainable results.
Each summer, Keep Charleston Beautiful staff, board members, and volunteers help to survey selected roadways. Assessing the presence of litter in your community is the first step in the litter prevention process. The Litter Index is designed to measure progress over time, so typically the same locations are surveyed from year to year. Every five years, new survey locations in the community are randomly selected.