The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission encourages Arkansans to organize a local cleanup or volunteer in a local cleanup during the national Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup.
The Great American Cleanup launches Monday, March 20, and volunteers statewide are encouraged to get involved in the annual cleanup and beautification campaign.
Last year’s Great American Cleanup featured 160 events involving nearly 7,000 Arkansans. They picked up more than 290,000 pounds of litter and collected more than 839,000 pounds of bulky waste from more than 780 miles of roadsides, trails and shorelines, a spokesman said in a news release.
“These volunteers, who donated 35,000 hours of their time to clean up other people’s litter, also collected 3,600 tires and 45,000 pounds of electronics for recycling, planted 3,000+ trees, shrubs and flowers, and cleaned up 44 illegal dumping sites and 1,100+ acres of parks and public areas,” the spokesman said.
Elizabeth Philpott is the Keep Arkansas Beautiful volunteer program manager.
“When volunteers come together for the Great American Cleanup in Arkansas, they are joining millions of others across the country who are working to preserve the natural beauty and economic vitality of their communities,” Philpott said. “Everyone wants to live, work, play and visit in a clean and green place – in communities that are more socially connected, environmentally healthy and economically sound – and it’s up to all of us to make that happen.”
Those interested in organizing a Great American Cleanup event in their community can find a registration form and details at KeepArkansasBeautiful.com. For those interested in volunteering at a local event, check out the Calendar of Events on the KAB website to find an already-organized event near you.