A group of ninth-graders from New Visions Charter High School for Advanced Math & Science II are trying to clean up the South Bronx by studying the effects of litter.

They say litter can impact everything from personal health and the environment, to a community's image.

The students put together research comparing the amount of garbage in the South Bronx versus Manhattan. They counted pieces of litter in parts of each borough, including items like paper, plastic, glass and metal.

They say they found more trash on just three blocks in the South Bronx than they found on nine blocks in Manhattan. Participants in the study say they were surprised to learn that the number of garbage cans in a neighborhood had nothing to do with the amount of garbage that was littered.

Their conclusion, which they will present to Bronx Community Board 2, was that higher-income neighborhoods had less trash on the streets.