Arkansans from 65 counties collected more than 153,000 pounds of litter and 1.7 million pounds of bulky waste during this year’s Great American Cleanup™ in Arkansas, a nationwide program of Keep America Beautiful and promoted statewide by the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KAB).
Additionally, 1,368 acres of parks and public areas were cleaned up, and 2,581 trees, shrubs and flowers were planted during the three-month campaign that began in March. Arkansans volunteered nearly 29,000 hours to clean up the state’s parks, public areas, roadsides and other places.
KAB promoted the Great American Cleanup statewide via a bi-monthly challenge map as a call-to-action to encourage volunteers to register at least one cleanup event in each of the state’s 75 counties during March, April and May. In all, 179 cleanup events were registered with KAB in 65 counties.
“Our state experienced a very rainy spring, but we are so proud of the thousands of coordinators and volunteers who made great strides to reduce litter in our state,” said Mark Camp, KAB executive director. “Our number of cleanups this year grew by 8 percent, and our volunteers removed 15 percent more litter this year than in 2018.”
Keep Arkansas Beautiful is offering assistance to communities who were impacted by flooding in May and the early part of June. Those interested in registering a cleanup can visit the “Get Involved” page on KeepArkansasBeautiful.com. Coordinators can request free cleanup supplies including trash bags, gloves and safety vests.
“With flood waters finally receding, communities could see an increase in litter that was deposited from the river and neighboring creeks and streams,” said Camp. “Though the Great American Cleanup is over, we encourage Arkansans to go online to register a cleanup this summer. We look forward to the Great Arkansas Cleanup starting in September.”
About Keep Arkansas Beautiful
The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KAB), consisting of a professional program staff of three and a nine-member, governor-appointed advisory board, is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. As a certified state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc., it works to inspire and educate individuals to reduce litter, recycle and keep Arkansas beautiful. KAB’s operations and programs are funded through its 1-percent portion of the eighth-cent Conservation Tax. By mobilizing volunteers, KABreturns to the state a benefit of more than $6 in community service for each program dollar spent. For more information, visit KeepArkansasBeautiful.com or stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagramand YouTube.
About Keep America Beautiful Inc.
Keep America Beautiful is America’s premier community environmental improvement organization. Founded in 1953, the nonprofit’s network of U.S. affiliates are focused on litter prevention, waste reduction and beautification. Recognized as the leader in changing attitudes and behaviors affecting community environments, Keep America Beautiful helps create communities that are socially connected, environmentally healthy and economically sound. It continues to be the most credible organization in its three focus areas by vigorously pursuing the guiding principles of education, volunteerism, partnership and individual responsibility. For more information, visit kab.org.
