Study says litter on the rise in Gwinnett County

Today is Earth Day, making it as good a time as any to point out this fact -- litter is on the rise in Gwinnett County.

That according to a study released last month by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, a local nonprofit aimed at "fostering a cleaner, greener, more beautiful and more livable community." The study, dubbed a "community appearance index," noted a 14 percent year-over-year increase in both litter and illegal signage throughout the county. 

The study -- which uses a scale of 1 to 4, with 1 being the best -- also examined graffiti, illegal dumping, outdoor storage and storm drains. Outdoor storage rose by 8 percent, while graffiti and legal dumping stood pat. Storm drains were not assessed in previous years.

Overall, the county scored a 1.37. That's an improvement from the 1.89 it received in 2012.

Data was not broken down on the city or community level.