Education

EHAT’s educational component of the illegal dumping and littering action 
plan consisted of:

(1)  Adoption and implementation of Washington State Department of 
       Ecology (DOE)’s “Litter and It Will Hurt” (LIWH) program.  
       Please click here to visit DOE’s website and access the campaign’s 
       program materials.

EHAT procured and installed signage on city and county roadways 
advertising the LIWH campaign.  The City of Oak Harbor installed

eight signs on city roadways and two signs on garbage trucks, and

Island County Public Works installed nearly 20 signs along roadsides

within county limits.   

Motorists or passengers traveling on Island County roadways that witness 
littering acts can call the “Litter and It Will Hurt” hotline to report litterers.  
From 2002-2007, the hotline received 171 calls reporting littering acts 
in the City of Oak Harbor, with 15 or fewer accounts for other Island 
County communities.  Over 200 cigarette butts were reported being 
tossed from vehicles traveling on Island County roadways, with fast food 
being the second most reported item.  EHAT initially targeted their litter 

signage program to Oak Harbor.

• LIWH sign locations (Oak Harbor, Island County)

• Litter call statistics by: (1) total calls, (2) location, (3) item 
  littered, and (4) location vs. item littered

       To coincide with the installation of signs, EHAT partnered with several

      organizations in the community, including the Naval Air Station (NAS)
Whidbey Island and Island County Solid Waste, to distribute LIWH 
program materials.  Island County Solid Waste’s transfer stations now 
regularly distribute “Secure Your Load” brochures. 

      (2)  Creation of educational handouts for distribution to the public and 
        interested parties and promotion of programs geared towards waste  
        reduction.

      EHAT developed brochures with the slogan, “Keep Island County 
Klean (KICK),” and a leaflet on locations where the public can dispose of 
unwanted items.  Also, together with Island County Solid Waste, EHAT 
published ads for six months in the local publication, Whidbey Markeplace 
and Community Journal, to promote Whidbey Freecycle^TM.  Whidbey 
Freecycle is a local yahoo group that helps divert waste from landfills by 
creating an online space for members to post unwanted items for free.  
Since publishing the ads, the yahoo group has grown considerably. 

• KICK brochure

• KICK trailhead flyer

• Leaflet on disposal locations

• Whidbey Freecycle ad