The International Coastal Cleanup is an international initiative that takes place annually September 1 through October 31. The event is designed to remove trash from beaches and waterways around the world. This cleanup is fueled by volunteer organizations and individuals with the goal of changing behavior toward cleaner, healthier waterways. Each piece of debris collected from the cleanup site is identified and tracked to provide a cumulative understanding of the debris that may find its way to our beaches and waterways. This dataset is updated annually.

The Community Appearance Index, also known as the Litter Index, is a tool designed by Keep America Beautiful to visually evaluate the overall appearance of a community using litter as an indicator. Every year, 60 routes throughout the five wards of Norfolk are analyzed to determine the cleanliness of the city. After a thorough training, a team of volunteers conduct the analysis using a scoring system ranging from 1-4 with “1” indicating minimal to no litter and “4” indicating extremely littered. Methodology for this process includes recruiting volunteers who commit to attend a one-and-a-half-day Community Appearance Index scan. Each volunteer is thoroughly trained on the index to accurately and consistently survey a statistical sample of the city. The results of the scan are then averaged to produce the City of Norfolk Community Appearance Index score.

This dataset is updated annually; the data begins in 2010. The Litter Index survey is normally conducted in August; the 2020 survey will be delayed due to COVID-19.