Clayton News Daily

By Daniel Silliman

dsilliman@news-daily.com

It's just a licenses plate, a tag like the ones picked up at the county's tax and tag office, but it could help to keep Georgia beautiful.

The specialty license plate is now being offered, and Keep Georgia Beautiful, the statewide environmental agency, is urging people to reserve a tag and help the efforts for clean water, land and air.

Edith 'Edie' Yongue, executive director of the Clayton County affiliate, said the tags cost $25 and the money goes to grants for local clean-up projects.

"It helps with every project that we do," Yongue said. "The Rivers Alive stream clean-up, teacher's hands-on curriculum workshops, Waste in Place ... We need all the help we can get because we are owned by the citizens. Everything we do, we do for the citizens."

The license plates bear a state logo, with a peach and the message, "Recycle 4 Georgia." The county tag offices have pictures of the available plates, which are listed under the category of Beautification projects.

"We must have 1,000 orders, statewide, or the tag cannot be made," Yongue said. "Stop by the tag office and give them a check for $25, to reserve your tag. It doesn't matter if you have already had your birthday, you are simply reserving the tag for when it is available sometime in 2009."

If the tags aren't made, the money will be refunded, Yongue said.

In addition to financially supporting the cause of a clean Georgia, Yongue said the license plates also raise awareness, and promote the idea of a cleaner, more beautiful state.

"It's an awareness thing," she said. "We need to keep, not just our county, but the whole state of Georgia clean."

Tags can be reserved at the county tax office, or ordered online at www.keepgeorgiabeautiful.org.