G r e at Am e r i can Cleanup // 2010 R eport
Green Starts Here Take nearly 4 million volunteers and participants and thousands of grassroots organizations, provide them with the tools and motivation to make their hometown a better place, mix in 5.7 million volunteer hours, sweat, grit and elbow grease, and watch as communities flourish with a cleaner environment, civic pride, and enhanced natural beauty. Keep America Beautiful’s 2010 Great American Cleanup accomplished this and more, with more than 30,000 events taking place in 33,000 communities nationwide.
The 2010 campaign theme, “Green Starts Here,” became a rallying call that encouraged communities to declare that being “green” begins at the grassroots. It begins with the actions of individuals. It can start with an educational event, a litter cleanup, recycling drive, graffiti paint-out, planting a community garden or planting just one tree. But it must start somewhere. Great movements begin with small actions. Participating organizations took the “Green Starts Here” theme and infused it with local flavor. In events throughout the country, proclamations from public officials, art contests, sustainability festivals, concerts, posters, banners, t-shirts—all carried the message to far corners of the community. In many respects, “green” did start here—with Keep America Beautiful’s efforts to change behaviors in the fight against pollution more than half a century ago. But a more
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sustainable future can start in a lot of places. It starts with a cleanup activity that engages local residents to come together for the betterment of their community. It can start with the simple choice to purchase a product based on its sustainability of design. And “green” starts with the simple decision to reduce, reuse and recycle the products that touch our daily lives. Most importantly, “green” starts within all of us, as we make a conscious decision to make a difference. “Green” is a powerful force that returns real, tangible benefits. Greener communities aren’t just aesthetically pleasing, they’re vibrant places, with engaged citizens, more active local economies, higher property values, healthier environments, and improved public safety. They’re better places to raise a family, start a business, or go to school. They’re better places for living life. Thanks to everyone who played a part in the 2010 Great American Cleanup—sponsors, volunteers, local organizations and coordinators—the results highlighted on these pages offer proof of the power of green.