VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Efforts are underway to keep Virginia Beach's beaches free of cigarette butts and other litter.
The "Keep it Beachy Clean" campaign encourages residents and visitors to recycle, pick up after their pets, properly dispose of all litter, use reusable shopping bags and drink bottles and take other measures to keep the beaches clean.
Restaurant owner Laura Habr tells The Virginian-Pilot that the campaign was inspired by beach closures in 2014 due to bacteria levels that exceeded state standards.
Clean Virginia Waterways is working to keep cigarette butts off the beaches. The organization has obtained a grant from Keep America Beautiful to install five receptacles on the Boardwalk and more than a dozen at hotel entrances. Hotels will receive portable pocket ashtrays to hand out to guests.
