Great American Cleanup 2012 Report by Keep America Beautiful

Great American Cleanup â&#x201E;˘

2012 Report

Mobilizing Volunteers and Improving Communities All Across America

The Great American Cleanup, Keep America Beautifulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signature program, organizes millions of volunteers in locally-directed activities that encourage individual stewardship for the environment and care for the community. Efforts in litter prevention and removal, waste reduction, recycling, beautification and community greening result in cleaner, greener, safer and more beautiful public spaces.

Contents Letter

National Kickoff Events

2012 Great American Cleanup Highlights

Cleanups are Just the Beginning

It All Comes Back to You: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Gardens and Greenspaces Help Communities Flourish

Educational Programs and Volunteering Energize Communities

2012 Great American Cleanup Results Summary

Measuring Results State-by-State

Affiliates and Participating Organizations

Great American Cleanup National Sponsors

Get Involved

Cover Image: ÂŠ Jim Olive/www.stockyard.com

Dear Great American Cleanup Friends and Supporters, Each and every day, Keep America Beautiful is singularly focused on building beautiful places in communities across the country. Whether the place is a neighborhood park, a nature trail, a river shoreline or a vacant lot, public places provide a space where people can come together, share ideas and establish meaningful relationships. When provided the right tools and resources, we’ve found that people tend to take better care of these places, resulting in even greater benefits. For example, we know that public places affect our sense of self, our connectedness to others, and our belonging to a community. At Keep America Beautiful, it’s our mission to engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community’s environment.

and greening of a vacant lot can increase adjacent property values by 30 percent. Community gardens have been proven to increase property values while providing opportunities for physical activity, healthier eating and better nutrition. During the 2012 Great American Cleanup, we’re proud to report that our volunteers’ work returned nearly $230 million in measurable benefits across 20,000 communities. It’s clear. Through our actions, we help create communities that are socially connected, environmentally healthy and economically sound. We want to acknowledge our affiliates, our partners, our national sponsors, and our volunteers who all made a significant contribution to creating beautiful places in communities across America. We hope you enjoy reading about their remarkable good work.

With a strong national network of affiliates and partners, including state recycling organizations, we work with millions of volunteers who take action to build and sustain vibrant communities.

We’re looking forward to an even more successful 2013 Great American Cleanup with greater participation and far-reaching impact than ever before.

In 2012, together with our connected network, we recruited 4.2 million volunteers to participate in the Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest community improvement program. From litter cleanups, tree plantings and disaster restoration projects to vacant lot greening, classroom programs, recycling initiatives and community gardens, we delivered positive and sustainable impact in communities across the country.

Sincerely,

When we plant a tree within 50 feet of a residence, the property value can increase by nine percent. The reclamation

Matthew M. McKenna President and CEO Keep America Beautiful

Gail Cunningham Senior Vice President Keep America Beautiful Managing Director Great American Cleanup

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

National Kickoff Event

National Day of Action A Day Committed to Volunteerism Across the Nation

los angEles, CA

events planned in 10 locations, including Oakland, Calif., Los Angeles, Cocoa, Fla., Indianapolis, Cobb County, Ga., Hampton Roads, Va., Houston, Shreveport, La., Philadelphia and Nashville. Dancing with the Stars’ Karina Smirnoff, the National Day of Action’s spokesperson, planted flowers in Los Angeles and encouraged her Twitter followers to participate in the Great American Cleanup. After the event, she tweeted, “Let me know what you’re doing or have done! Just think how we can all make a difference!”

Dancing with the Stars’ Karina Smirnoff planting flowers.

Early in 2012, Keep America Beautiful (KAB) announced a record-setting goal to recruit 4 million volunteers to participate in the annual Great American Cleanup (GAC), the nation’s largest annual community improvement program that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. The Great American Cleanup, like spring itself, offers a wonderful opportunity to refresh our communities—by cleaning up, to be sure, but also by planting, rebuilding and renewing. This strength in numbers was on full display during KAB’s first-ever Great American Cleanup National Day of Action, which took place on Saturday, April 28. The initiative featured 10 “spotlight” events, which were expressly designed for the National Day of Action, as well as additional events throughout the country that enabled individuals to volunteer in their respective communities. Activities took place in nearly all 50 states, with special

“Volunteering in your community is a great way to turn personal passion into lasting change,” said Matt McKenna, president & CEO, Keep America Beautiful. “Whether you joined a large event that happened near you, or just made a personal commitment to act on April 28, these small actions added up to spectacular results.”

“Whether you joined a large event that happened near you, or just made a personal commitment to act on April 28, these small actions added up to spectacular results.” Matt McKenna, President & CEO, Keep America Beautiful

Each of the KAB affiliates in the featured locations led large-scale cleanups and other coordinated events with significant community impact. Volunteers cleaned up litter and illegal dump sites, hosted recycling events, painted out graffiti, and planted thousands of flowers, plants and trees.

Hampton Roads, VA

Cocoa, FL

Indianapolis, IN

Houston, TX

Nashville, TN

Los Angeles, CA

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

SPOTLIGHT EVENT STATES

planted trees, cleaned and planted gardens and removed invasive species along the Fall Creek waterway in the pouring rain, addressing targeted areas on the city’s Quality of Life Plan. And a number of skateboarders, participating in the 2012 Indianapolis GreenSkate, picked up trash and other debris as they skateboarded around the city.

Keep Brevard Beautiful in Cocoa, Fla., rallied more than 700 volunteers, representing civic organizations, churches and school groups that cleaned up 38 sites throughout the city. The KAB affiliate engaged local merchants in the shopping district for a “10-Minute Makeover,” in which the merchants cleaned their storefronts and businesses prior to opening for the day. In the afternoon, volunteers cleaned and beautified the Veteran’s Apartment complex. Under the direction of Keep Houston Beautiful, volunteers planted 200 trees at Hermann Park to replace trees that were lost to drought. Volunteers cleaned up the Museum Park neighborhood, spreading mulch on street medians, and Waste Management sponsored a cleanup of the R.L. and Cora Johnson Park with the help of the Carverdale Civic Club. Inclement weather didn’t keep volunteers from their appointed rounds, whether they were on foot or… skateboard! Keep Indianapolis Beautiful’s 900 volunteers

Oakland, CA

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa kicked off the National Day of Action in L.A. with nearly 3,500 volunteers cleaning up several sites along the L.A. River. The volunteers removed 39,700 pounds of litter and debris, and remediated 70 graffiti-laden sites. Keep Los Angeles Beautiful was joined by the Friends of the L.A. River to clean up 10 sites along the river, focusing on areas with natural bottoms that tend to trap much more litter and debris. Not to be outdone by Mayor Villaraigosa, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan joined KAB President & CEO Matt McKenna at Keep Oakland Beautiful’s beautification event in East Oakland as part of the Mayor’s “100-Block Community Initiative” to reduce violence. This area represents 5 percent of the city’s land mass, but experiences the city’s majority of crime. More than 500 volunteers helped to pick up litter, weed and mulch, and prune the 33 blocks along the Bancroft Median. The volunteers completed another sizable project by building raised planter beds at Verdese Carter Park for residents to grow food, and they planted fruit and ornamental trees at East Oakland’s PRIDE Elementary School.

Mableton, GA

Oakland, CA

Keep California Beautiful President Leonard Robinson, KAB President/CEO Matt McKenna, KCB Executive Director Christine Flowers.

Hampton Roads, VA

Keep Virginia Beautiful, Keep Norfolk Beautiful, and HR Green helped to coordinate a major event throughout the Hampton Roads region, with 13 counties and cities participating in the Day of Action. More than 1,700 volunteers completed 70 projects. Among the noteworthy results were nearly 250 structures—bridges, playgrounds and more—that were painted; nearly 125,000 pounds of litter collected; and the planting of nearly 820 plants and shrubs as well as 86 trees. The Metro Beautification and Environmental Commission in Nashville, Tenn., focused its efforts in Hickory Hollow, an oft-forgotten and neglected part of the city. The activities that the 660 volunteers participated in were wide-ranging. Volunteers cleaned and improved Mill Creek at the Ezell Park Greenway as well as refurbished, beautified and rededicated the Veteran’s War Memorial Monument. They also cleaned and beautified a school campus as well as planted trees and a community garden. In South Cobb, Ga., Keep Cobb Beautiful worked with 200 volunteers at three sites to refresh, rebuild and revitalize Wallace Park. This neighborhood park and recreation facility received a makeover with improvements made to the playground, basketball court and soccer field, as well as to the picnic area. Moreover, the volunteers tackled the arduous task of cleaning up a neighborhood with properties plagued by illegal dumping and code violations after flooding took place in 2009. The Happy Hollow Playground and Recreation Center, the oldest community center in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, was the recipient of a large-scale restoration

Philadelphia, PA

project. Kicked off by Mayor Michael A. Nutter—KAB’s 2011 Vision for America Award recipient—volunteers painted the Center as well as the surrounding benches, fences and playground surface. They restored the basketball court backboards and planted fresh sunflowers and garden beds around the Center. Shreveport Green in Shreveport, La., engaged 250 volunteers, including members of its City Council and local firefighters and policemen, to clean approximately five miles of streets and an illegal dump site. Shreveport Green took on Texas Avenue, a historic but neglected part of the downtown, and they refreshed the Mercy Center and built a raised garden bed there. There were many additional highlights throughout the country, above and beyond the 10 featured events. Keep Rio Rancho (N.M.) Beautiful engaged more than 1,000 volunteers to beautify its community; I Love A Clean San Diego rallied 5,300 volunteers to its annual “Creek to Bay” cleanup; Keep Highlands County (Fla.) Beautiful gathered volunteers to clean several inaccessible canals using boats; and Keep Clarke County (Ohio) Beautiful beautified 30 blocks of downtown Springfield.

Save the Date

April 6

Keep America Beautiful will host the second annual National Day of Action on Saturday, April 6, 2013.

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

National Kickoff Event

Applauding a Greener NYC Keep New York City Beautiful Coalition Celebrates Earth Day in Times Square Keep America Beautiful celebrated New York City’s sustainability efforts with a rally in Times Square during the 2012 Great American Cleanup. The annual event, which celebrates National Volunteer Week and Earth Day, also saw New York City and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg receiving the first-ever “Green City Award” from Keep America Beautiful. The kickoff also served as the fifth anniversary of Mayor Bloomberg’s plaNYC and the ninth year Times Square celebration of the Keep New York City Beautiful coalition (KNYCB). The event provided a platform for KNYCB— an organization of city agencies and nonprofits—to launch its participation in KAB’s GAC. The event featured performances by Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler, cast members of Broadway’s MAMMA MIA! and STOMP!, as well as the pop group Mustard Seed Magic, who all entertained the crowd, while speakers touted the city’s sustainability efforts, cleanliness and volunteer spirit. New York resident Brenda Duchene was honored with a President’s Volunteer Service Award, recognizing her long history of volunteerism, most notably her intergenerational efforts to improve the Powell Street Community Garden through a grant from Change By Us.

Students from NYC’s High School for Environmental Studies.

“Volunteering is simply a gift… a gift of your time,” said Duchene in accepting the award. “Even a half-hour can make a huge difference in someone’s life or in your community.” Among the local dignitaries participating in the Keep NYC Beautiful coalition Times Square rally were Commissioner Carter Strickland, NYC Department of Environmental Protection; David Bragdon, City of NY Executive Director of Long Term Planning & Sustainability; Olivia Ferriter, Acting Director, Office of Youth, Partnerships and Service, U.S. Department of Interior; Peter Kostmayer, President, Citizens Committee for New York City; Adrian Benepe, former Commissioner, NYC Parks & Recreation; Jennifer Brown, NYC BIDs Association Co-Chair; John Taylor, Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications, LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc.; and STOMP! cast member Jason Mills. “Today, New York City is the cleanest it’s been in over 35 years,” said NYC Department of Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty. “We owe that to our residents, our city agencies, our business improvement districts, and nonprofit organizations. We owe it to the people that are out getting the job done, day in and day out.”

(From left) Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler and PVSA winner Brenda Duchene with Olivia Ferriter, Acting Director, Office of Youth, Partnerships & Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

John Taylor, Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications, LG Electronics USA, presents donation to Keep NYC Beautiful chairman and NYC Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty.

Mayor Bloomberg, in a written proclamation, noted, “This year marks the fifth anniversary of PlaNYC, initiatives designed to address the environmental challenges facing our City. With the help of the New York City Department of Sanitation, we’ve been able to make terrific progress towards meeting our goals, and we’re glad that Keep America Beautiful has partnered with us as we work to create a greener, greater New York.”

Great American Cleanup Highlights

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Cleanups are Just the Beginning The Great American Cleanup originally began as a litter cleanup initiative designed to aesthetically improve the environment by creating more inviting parks, streetscapes and public spaces. As the program has matured and grown, grassroots organizations have taken on more diverse challenges—eliminating graffiti, collecting recyclables, planting community gardens, and hosting educational events. But community cleanups remain at the very heart of the event, and the results are staggering. In 2012 alone, 87 million pounds of litter and debris were collected by volunteers throughout the country.

Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful has hosted the Great American Cleanup Gwinnett Challenge since 1999 and has witnessed steady growth every year. This year’s event had more than 40 groups and organizations participating. Each group designed its own project in one of seven different categories in the hope of becoming a 2012 Challenge Winner. One winner was selected from each category and awarded a $500 cash prize for making the biggest transformation and impact on his or her neighborhood and community. Categories included the Green-up Your Neighborhood Award, the Stash the Trash Award, the Beautify Your Space Award, the Put Litter in Place Award, the Recycle Now Award, the Wipeout Graffiti Award, and the Grow Green Award. Primerica, the Wipeout Graffiti winner, painted more than 660 feet of fencing to remove old graffiti. Its effort helped to beautify a neighborhood entrance and will discourage future graffiti vandalism along Old Norcross Road.

Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful’s Executive Director Connie Wiggins stated, “This Challenge allows community groups to demonstrate their stewardship and pride in Gwinnett by working to make our community cleaner, safer and more livable.”

3,300 miles of biking, hiking and nature trails cleaned or beautified in 2012

2 0 1 2 G AC FAC T

Gwinnett’s Great American Cleanup Challenge

The Grow Green winner, Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Partners, built and planted three vegetable and flower gardens at Sheltering Arms. Children at this facility care for the gardens and are producing vegetables for use at the Daycare Center. The Recycle Now winner, Teacher’s As Leaders, collected more than 1,100 books to give to children being treated at Gwinnett Medical Center. Thanks to this project, the children receive a free book when they check out of the hospital. These were three examples of the many creative projects conducted in Gwinnett County that took place during the 2012 Great American Cleanup.

palm beach, FL

bakersfield, CA

san diego, CA

memphis, TN

From March 1 through May 31, 2012, more than 15,000 people participated in 247 projects for Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup. Together, volunteers were successful in collecting more than 1 million pounds of recyclables; removing more than 80,700 pounds of litter, trash and debris; painting one mile of fencing; and cleaning up 195 miles of roadway.

Keep Angleton Beautiful Cleans Up in One Day Keep Angleton Beautiful hosted three Great American Cleanup events this spring, all on the same day. Keep Angleton Beautiful revamped its 16th Annual Heart of Angleton City-wide Cleanup to involve all ages, all schools and the Angleton government. By partnering with its local trash hauler, Waste Connections, and the Public Works Department, more than 200 vehicles were simultaneously bringing waste to the drive-through drop-off site. Along with the volunteers in vehicles, 147 people were on foot picking up litter and participating in beautification projects. For its second GAC event, Keep Angleton Beautiful partnered with its local high school to form Wildcats Helping Out Angleton (W.H.O.A.). More than 200 student

Evansville, IN

orangetown, NY

“ All day, there were trucks and tractors going by carrying tires. We collected 12,000 tires in just four hours!” Sharo n O’Nei ll, Keep Angleton Beautiful Executive Director

volunteers and 20 sponsors came out in support of the community, which has recently provided the school with the funds for a new football stadium. The high school students completed jobs that ranged from cleaning out flower beds to cleaning up debris to painting houses for 112 residents. The last event that took place was a massive tire collection in the southern part of the county. As a collective effort, five city sites gathered 12,000 tires in a matter of hours and an additional 6,000 tires were collected over the next week, totaling 18,000 tires. This event kept city and county ditches from becoming illegal dump sites. In total, Keep Angleton Beautiful’s impressive set of projects resulted in 33,632 pounds of trash and debris being collected.

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Keep Polk County Beautiful Pilot Cleanup is a Success! The Great American Cleanup always serves as an opportunity for volunteer activism in cleaning up residential communities. Over a six-month period, Keep Polk County Beautiful (KPCB) in Lake Wales, Fla., did just that by removing nearly 312 tons of trash from local neighborhoods. Through the campaign, called the Clean It Up to Green It Up Pilot Program, volunteers also collected more than 4,500 scrap tires to be recycled. The Clean It Up to Green It Up Pilot Program hosted halfday cleanups in numerous areas of the county including an “undeveloped subdivision” that KPCB had received complaints about frequently. KPCB volunteers were successful in collecting an additional 6.5 tons of trash and 300 scrap tires through this cleanup project. san diego, ca

I Love A Clean San Diego Focuses on Cleaning Highway Ramps

“Our main goal was educating people so we don’t have to go back and do more cleanups,” Katie Glass, KPCB’s executive director, told The Ledger. Glass continued to emphasize how important it was to provide the community with valuable information about waste and recycling to prevent the need for cleanups in the future.

I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD) typically conducts approximately 90 cleanup events each year. This year, ILACSD focused on a new location in need of tidying up executing its first on/off ramp cleanup during the Great American Cleanup. I Love A Clean San Diego partnered with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to host ILACSD’s Creek to Bay Cleanup at Camelot Canyon in the University Heights neighborhood of San Diego. Adult volunteers received full training about how to conduct a highway cleanup and were also given hard hats, goggles, and safety vests. During the event, 32 volunteers successfully removed 1,200 pounds of trash. While the trash that was picked up did not include any large debris, there were “bags and bags of litter,” making the on/off ramps shine. “We hope to continue to target on and off ramps with Caltrans because we had been getting a lot of complaints from people about them,” said Natalie Roberts, I Love A Clean San Diego’s director of community events.

angleton, TX

rowlett, TX

Gilbert, AR

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has 100% Statewide Participation The Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania is the state’s premier community improvement event. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful held its annual “Pick It Up PA Day” with a very impressive participation rate. In 2012, all 67 counties in Pennsylvania were represented in the Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania! “Pick It Up PA Day” takes place annually for two weeks around Earth Day. During this promotional period, registered event coordinators can gain access to using landfill space for free at participating landfills, transfer stations, and waste-to-energy facilities. The Great American Cleanup of PA website provides a countyby-county list of participating landfills so that registered event organizers can easily find the nearest landfill. The website also has a reporting page so all cleanups have an opportunity to report their results.

100% Participation

Hawaii, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee had 100% county-by-county volunteer participation!

glendale, ca

A total of 4,421 events took place with 141,264 volunteers collecting 338,148 bags of trash, the equivalent of nearly 6.8 million pounds. Volunteers also cleaned 13,589 miles of roads, railroad tracks, trails, waterways and shorelines, as well as slightly more than 14,000 acres of parks and wetlands. Additionally, volunteers planted more than 22,500 trees, bulbs and plants in an effort to keep Pennsylvania beautiful.

OKC Beautiful’s Annual Litter Blitz OKC Beautiful has organized litter pick-up events since its inception in 1962 and it’s hosted the annual “LitterBlitz,” as a formal program, beginning in 2000 as part of the Great American Cleanup. “LitterBlitz” is six-week, anti-litter campaign organized to curb litter and create community awareness of this ever-present problem. Beginning in late March and ending in early May, volunteer groups gathered to pick up trash throughout Oklahoma City. The 2012 LitterBlitz kicked off at the highest point in Oklahoma City—the Oklahoma City Landfill! Through “LitterBlitz,” OKC Beautiful volunteers have increased to 11,000 annually, and they picked up an astounding 60 tons of trash in 2012. It’s estimated that volunteers have removed over 50,000 tons of trash in parks, medians and roadways. In addition to litter cleanups, volunteers painted park trash cans, playground equipment and spread mountains of mulch in the parks.

Great American Cleanup 2012 G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

chesapeake hampton isle of wight james city portsmouth newport news norfolk poquoson smithfield suffolk virginia beach williamsburg york

Hampton Roads Gets Greener Through the partnership of Keep Virginia Beautiful (KVB) and askHRgreen.org, PEP-12-07 a public awareness program of the 16 cities and counties of the Hampton Roads area, Hampton Roads was selected as one of 10 spotlight events for the Great American Cleanup (GAC) National Day of Action. The launch of the Hampton Roads cleanup events involved over 1,700 volunteers, who transformed local parks, waterways and recreational areas into cleaner, greener environments. “The results from more than 90 project sites have made a long-lasting and positive impact in each of our communities,” said Mike Baum, executive director, KVB. The array of cleanup and beautification programs were far-ranging, involving volunteer groups from local businesses and national corporations, military installations, colleges and universities, as well as civic, neighborhood and faith-based organizations. “There was a strong spirit of cooperation and commitment toward the goals of the program,” said John Deuel, project manager of the Hampton Roads GAC and executive director of Keep Norfolk Beautiful. Community volunteers in the City of Chesapeake participated in the Indian River Park Cleanup and a stream cleanup at the Chesapeake Arboretum. Volunteers from the US Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Nine, among others, completed a local gateway beautification project. The “Isle Be Green” Plastic Bag Collection took place in Isle of Wright County as part of the county recycling program. Volunteers received reusable shopping bags in exchange for collecting plastic bags. James City County organized corporate volunteers from Anheuser-Busch and their families to put in plants to filter

14 12

Memphis, TN

columbus, ms

OVERALL RESULTS 1,781 Volunteers 92 Sites 13 Participating Localities 48 Corporate/Military/Neighborhood Groups 124,862 Pounds of Litter/Debris 86 Trees Planted 818 Plants & Shrubs Planted 248 Structures Painted 515 Pounds of Hazardous Waste Collected

pollutants and stabilize the shoreline as well as create a rain garden. Volunteers from a local VFW helped to clean up the shoreline, campsites and a fishing pier at Chickahominy Riverfront Part in a beautification of the Ironbound Square. Members of the military service were the major participants in GAC activities in Newport News. Among the many activities service members participated were installing mulch at two playgrounds, and improvements of a park landscape, elementary school grounds and the public schools support center. The municipal parks in Norfolk received a makeover with volunteers painting picnic shelters, fencing, picnic table and benches at Northside Park, Barraud Park, Lafayette Park, Lakewood Park and Ocean View Park. Volunteers from the USS Harry S. Truman helped construct climbing and play structures for the Virginia Zoo’s Asian Su and Moon bears and bearcats. And 20 civic groups from across the city helped to pick up litter at 20 different sites.

Memphis, TN

montgomery, oh

Glad® ForceFlex® Black Bag partnered with acclaimed artist Jason Mecier to create custom artwork from the remnants of wild moments of Hollywood stars. (PRNewsFoto/The Glad Products Company)

During this year’s Great American Cleanup, The Glad Products Company turned “trashed items” into works of art. In this case, celebrity trash. The makers of Glad® ForceFlex® Black Bag have partnered with acclaimed artist Jason Mecier to create custom artwork from the remnants of wild moments of Hollywood stars, including actress Amy Smart, actor Jesse Eisenberg, reality star Lauren Conrad, actress Emmanuelle Chriqui of Entourage, Parks & Recreation’s Nick Offerman, actress Megan Mullally, Dancing with the Stars’ Chelsie Hightower, and iCarly’s Nathan Kress. In addition, Great American Cleanup volunteers were invited to submit unique finds from cleanup events across the country. Mecier, a celebrated mosaic artist, developed four unique works of art from celebrity donations. Mecier also used unique finds from KAB’s events, the nation’s largest

“Creating portraits from items that people no longer want or need is my specialty,” said Mecier. “I love that the materials for these pieces are coming from what might otherwise go to landfill but could now go to an art gallery. There are many creative ways to think differently about trash and take steps to reduce waste. My art is just one example of this.”

193,000

acres of park and public lands cleaned

2 0 1 2 G AC FAC T

Artist Helps Turn Celebrity Trash into Treasure for Good

nationwide community cleanup effort. The mosaics were auctioned during the “Mess to Masterpiece Auction, Presented by Glad® Black Bag” on eBay from April 16-26, 2012, to support KAB’s Great American Cleanup, in addition to the millions of Glad® ForceFlex® Black Bags that have been donated to cleanups nationwide.

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Sustaining Clean Communities

partne r profile

Waste Management Provides Invaluable Infrastructure Support for the Great American Cleanup

When millions of volunteers gather to pick up litter and other debris from roadways, highways and waterways over a three-month period, where does all of the waste go? Without the help of haulers and recyclers such as Waste Management, the nation’s largest recycler of municipal solid waste, the Great American Cleanup wouldn’t be able to achieve its mission. Waste Management’s support of the Great American Cleanup was integral to the success of the program in 2012.

This year, 15 Keep America Beautiful affiliates were awarded “Think Green” Grants to be used for the Great American Cleanup (GAC) projects. Waste Management partnered with Keep Oakland Beautiful to complete a gardening project as part of the GAC 2012 National Day of Action on April 28. More than 500 volunteers helped mulch, weed, prune and pick up litter along 33 blocks of the 50-foot wide Bancroft Median in East Oakland. Volunteers also built raised planter beds, which will enable residents to grow food at the Verdese Carter Park. In addition to the planter beds, volunteers also planted fruit and ornamental trees at the East Oakland PRIDE Elementary School. Another event, supported by a “Think Green” grant, took place in Avenal, Calif., on the National Day of Action. Kettleman Elementary School’s students participated in a community cleanup along Highway 41 and the two blocks around the school. The project served as a great tool to teach the children about the importance of not littering. In addition, they painted the interior of a building for the new Kettleman City Chamber of Commerce.

Further south in California, more than 80 volunteers came out to participate in the annual Temescal Valley Great American Cleanup. Local residents, ranging from children to adults, discarded 16,000 pounds of trash and debris from the Lake Mathews region. This year, volunteers expanded their cleanup efforts to open space around Lake Mathews, addressing the litter found at illegal shooting ranges located four miles from Temescal Valley homes.

temescal valley, CA

Port Charlotte, FL

The Waste Management “Think Green” Grant also helped Azusa Beautiful volunteers plant 20 trees along 9th Street and Pasadena Avenue in Azusa, Calif. The grant also helped support Zero Trash Laguna Beach’s “1st Saturday” event, a community cleanup event in the city of Laguna, Calif. Adopt-A-Neighbor Food & Outreach also received a grant that helped support its food bank and the cleanup of a mobile home area, which included the removal of large bulky items. On April 12, Waste Management presented the City of High Point, N.C., with its “Think Green” GAC Grant. The grant was used to plant 18 trees in a median that had previously been barren for many years. Keep High Point Beautiful along with the Burnshill Neighborhood Association, an organization that has historically provided maintenance for the area, participated in the cleanup and planting effort in this area. In nearby Columbia, S.C., Keep the Midlands Beautiful worked in partnership with the City of Columbia to complete a beautification project of the Martin Luther King Park. The Waste Management “Think Green” GAC Grant helped to complete the construction of a bridge at the park. Keep Oklahoma Beautiful along with Waste Management, LG Electronics, Keep America Beautiful and the City of Oklahoma City hosted an eCycling event that offered free e-waste recycling to all Oklahomans. Keep Charlotte(Fla.) Beautiful utilized its “Think Green” grant to complete two separate projects. The first project was a beautification and educational project at the Girl Scout House in celebration of its 100th anniversary. Volunteers planted native species around the house, installed a rain barrel painted by one of the troops and made an environmental educational cart, which was filled with books, games and activities for the troops to use. The project was completed in early May and is still being enjoyed by the local Girl Scouts. The second project was a community garden in the Parkside Community, an area that is under revitalization. Keep Charlotte Beautiful partnered

azusa, CA

Lake Clarke Shores, FL

with the Charlotte County Family Services Center, Team Port Charlotte, and a Boy Scout working on his Eagle Scout badge. The grant also provided a storage shed for the community garden at the Charlotte South County Park. Also in Florida, Waste Management supported Keep Clay Beautiful’s St. Johns River Cleanup and encouraged attendees at Clay County Agricultural Fair to recycle. Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful completed two projects with the help of its “Think Green” GAC Grant. Volunteers gathered in the Town of Juno Beach to plant 2,555 sea oats on the beach and collect 400 pounds of litter. The grant also helped repair a boat ramp in the Town of Lake Clarke Shores that will allow boaters to access Lake Clarke. In addition to the ramp, the grant helped fund the installation of recycling receptacles at the lake. Keep Marietta (Ga.) Beautiful engaged community members and local service groups to transform a portion of an overgrown and unused playground at the Head Start School into a community and school garden.

marieTta, ga

Keep it Moving in Detroit hosted a community banquet at the Mount Cavalry Baptist Church. The guest speaker at the event was Bettie Mencheck from the Department of Education and the Master of Ceremonies was Brian Conaway of Waste Management, Southeast Michigan and Ohio. The following morning, Keep It Moving kicked off its community cleanup at Pingree Park. Keep Our Coast Beautiful and Harrison County Beautification in Gulfport, Miss., worked together on their annual “Bring It!” household waste collection. Their “Think Green” GAC Grant helped them place Big Belly solar compacting trash containers in downtown Gulfport.

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

It All Comes Back to You: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Recycling is the easiest thing that any individual can do—every single day—to conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions, and protect our treasured natural resources. Keep America Beautiful, and the Great American Cleanup, strive to motivate more Americans to reduce, reuse and recycle more of their waste. By promoting simple, everyday choices and actions, and by inspiring participation, our 2012 effort resulted in significant recycling results.

Keep Oklahoma Beautiful eCycles!

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK

Great American Cleanup National Sponsors LG Electronics and Waste Management teamed up with Keep Oklahoma Beautiful and the City of Oklahoma City to host a very successful eCycling event in early May. The Great American Cleanup event took place at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds and was made available to all Oklahomans. As advertised, the eCycling event was quick, simple and absolutely free. On the day of the event, vehicles loaded with materials to be recycled began arriving around 7:30 a.m., with the last vehicle pulling through the drop-off area at 4:30 p.m. Volunteers removed all acceptable electronic products from trunks or pickup beds–most participants didn’t even have to get out of their cars! The event collected items from 1,055 cars and trucks, which generated 10 full semi-truck loads of electronic waste. It was calculated that the quantity of recycled materials is equivalent to the amount of solid waste generated by 362 U.S. households in one year. Keep Oklahoma Beautiful’s eCycling event netted 746,767 pounds of mixed office electronics, which were diverted from landfills and properly recycled.

This Great American Cleanup event is part of the LG Electronics Recycling Program, which is designed to provide consumers with a convenient way to dispose of their used, unwanted, obsolete or damaged consumer electronics products. According to Wayne Park, president and CEO, LG Electronics USA, LG collected more than 10 million pounds of unused electronics for recycling in 2011.

dalton, ga

Keep Fort Worth Beautiful Hosts Successful Composting Class Each year, Keep Fort Worth (Texas) Beautiful hosts a Master Composter Class for local residents and others during the Great American Cleanup.

2 0 1 2 G AC FAC T

The program started at Seattle Tilth, an educational nonprofit that provides information and resources about composting and organic gardening, among other topics, and came to Texas about 15 years ago. Since then, all classes have been filled to capacity. The 16-hour course is taught by Larry Wilhelm, a state-recognized instructor. While most of the course takes place in the classroom, participants are required to complete 20 hours of volunteer time to obtain the title of a Master Composter.

Participants learned extensively about organic composting, how to conduct backyard composting and vermicomposting, as well as proper recycling methods. Many participants were organic gardeners who aspire to live organically, while others were simply interested in composting at home. “They take their knowledge to help keep things out of the landfill,” said Keep Fort Worth Beautiful Executive Director Debbie Branch. “It’s a win-win.” All attendees also received “The Rodale Book of Composting” and a Shepherd Complete Composter.

youngstown, oh

Did You Know? A glass container can go from recycling bin to a store shelf in as few as 30 days.

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Keep Cincinnati Beautiful Takes Care of “Home Base”

columbus, ga

For over 90 years, the City of Cincinnati has celebrated the “Cincinnati Reds’ Opening Day” with a huge parade through the streets around Findlay Market. Thousands of people from around the tri-state area join in and, this year, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful (KCB) used the parade as an opportunity to promote the Great American Cleanup. In a very resourceful recycling effort, KCB volunteers made a Reds’ hat out of recycled plastic grocery bags and cut “home plate” signs out of reclaimed plywood. These creative projects connected well with the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade and KCB’s parade theme—“Taking care of our home base.”—which helped to raise awareness of the work KCB does in the community. The effort must have sparked some inspiration because more than 7,500 volunteers from 110 communities and schools participated in KCB’s Great American Cleanup activities. Two weeks after the parade, KCB hosted an e-waste collection event. KCB partnered with Whole Foods and 2TRG (a local electronics recycler) to collect old computers, TVs, cell phones, printers, monitors, and more. Despite the pouring rain, volunteers still managed to collect over 10,000 pounds of e-waste. This contributed to the 10 million pounds of electronic waste that was collected for recycling during the 2012 Great American Cleanup.

cincinnati, OH

FORSYTH, GA

Keep Florence Beautiful adds Paper Shredding and Paint Collection This year, in addition to Keep Florence (S.C.) Beautiful’s traditional Great American Cleanup litter cleanup event, KFB added two unique recycling activities, including paper shredding and a latex paint collection. In total, 1,679 pounds of paper were collected, shredded and recycled at the Great American Cleanup headquarters in Florence County. Recycling services are limited in Florence County and the availability of paper shredding provided residents with secure document destruction and an environmentally-friendly alternative to disposing of the paper waste in the local landfill. In addition to the shredding project, 116 containers of latex paint were collected and sent to be re-manufactured through “The Paint Exchange” as a result of this special collection activity. “The Paint Exchange” collection provided residents with a much-needed service because paint is not accepted at Florence County Convenience Centers. This proper disposal method is important because it protects aquatic life from the toxins of latex paint, while maintaining water quality. Expanding the GAC to include environmentally-friendly disposal options enabled Keep Florence Beautiful to reach a broader audience and engage more citizens in taking responsibility for their community.

1.6 MILLION 18

T i r e s coll e ct e d d u r i n g th e 2 0 1 2 G r e at A m e r ica n Cleanup

TAMPA, FL

Nestlé ® Pure Life® Contest Spurs PET Recycling More than 190 million PET (plastic) bottles were recycling during the 2012 Great American Cleanup, another significant recycling highlight for GAC volunteers across the country.

485,000 pounds of PET water bottles were recycled. Keep Stockwell (Ind.) Beautiful, KAB’s smallest affiliate with a population of nearly 550 people, received the award in the small population category for recycling 35,307 pounds, or 64.78 pounds per capita, of PET in 2012.

Nestlé® Pure Life® Purified Water, a National Sponsor of the GAC, worked with Keep America Beautiful to conduct its third Nestlé® Pure Life® PET Recycling Awards, which recognizes the top 25 KAB affiliates that collect the most pounds of PET for recycling based on the affiliates’ population. Nestlé Waters North America also provided 1.5 million bottles of water to quench the thirst of GAC volunteers. There were eight awards given in each of three population categories, per capita based on population served: small (less than 50,000); medium (50,000-250,000); and large (more than 250,000). Keep Arkansas Beautiful was recognized as the state affiliate who achieved the most PET collected for recycling based on population served. Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful, a countywide KAB affiliate based in Charlotte, N.C., won a recycling award by providing resources for volunteers all over the county to pick up litter in neighborhoods and roads. In the end, more than

EAST POINT, GA

greenwood, sc

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

TEMESCAL VALLEY, CA

Solo Cup Provides Grants for Recycling Programs Solo Cup Company, in its fourth year as a National Sponsor of the Great American Cleanup, presented seven Keep America Beautiful affiliates with its Foodservice Packaging End-of-Life Education Grants during the 2012 GAC. “KAB affiliates, with their dedicated grassroots volunteer base, are in a perfect position to tailor programs specific to their communities’ needs,” said Kim Frankovich, vice president of sustainability at Solo. “Their hands-on approach to making a difference in their communities helps us spread the word about proper foodservice packaging disposal options.

“ KAB affiliates, with their dedicated grassroots volunteer base, are in a perfect position to tailor programs specific to their communities’ needs.” KIM F RAN KOVICH, Vice President of Sustainability, Solo Cup Company

“These grants will expand existing programs or develop new ones to educate and promote awareness about proper end-of-life options for our products. More and more communities are expanding recycling and composting options for the paper, plastic and compostable products we make,” added Frankovich.

COLUMBUS, GA

Recipients of the grants included Keep Yankton (S.D.) Beautiful, Montgomery (Ala.) Clean City Commission, Keep Oak Park (Ill.) Beautiful, Keep Knoxville (Tenn.) Beautiful, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful and Keep Cocke County Beautiful in Newport, Tenn. Participating affiliates were challenged to create proposals for educating community members about the harmful effects of littering foodservice packaging as well as for teaching the correct disposal options, including recycling and composting, for foodservice packaging where available. The affiliates’ projects were implemented during 2012 with results to be reported in the spring of 2013. The creativity and scope of the projects varied widely. For example, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful partnered with the Cincinnati Zoo to educate elementary students about the environment and proper waste disposal. The Montgomery Clean City Commission installed waste and recycling containers throughout local schools and developed a school-based awareness program about waste disposal options. Keep Yankton Beautiful also purchased waste and recycling containers for a local high school and plans on educating incoming students on proper waste disposal. Another project oriented to education was developed by Keep Oak Park Beautiful, which is educating community members and local businesses about an existing program that collects food scraps, compostable paper and yardwaste for composting.

A number of affiliate programs are focusing on public spaces and festivals. Keep Philadelphia Beautiful used its grant to purchase and distribute environmentallypreferable products to vendors at food festivals as well as promoting infrastructure for composting. Keep Knoxville Beautiful supports zero waste festivals and a family recycling challenge in the community. And Keep Cocke County Beautiful purchased a recycling trailer for proper disposal of recyclables in elementary schools and distribution of litter containers for cars at schools to lessen the amount of auto-generated litter.

rome, gA

columbus, oh

First Grade Students Learn to REUSE for Keep Columbus Beautiful First grade teacher Kelly Montgomery put a call in to Keep Columbus (Ohio) Beautiful’s Education Coordinator Stacy Law requesting a visit to her classroom to talk to students about litter prevention, graffiti abatement, how they can throw away less and how to help conserve resources by using the four R’s: reducing, reusing, recycling and rethinking. Montgomery spent time with the students explaining how important it is to reuse items such as egg cartons, plastic bottles, mayonnaise jars and more. Following the presentation, Montgomery gave her class an assignment—go home and locate an item the student thinks can be reused and develop a creative idea to use the item in a different way. The students were asked to write about their concept and bring in their project to share with the class. The students exceeded her expectations in presenting the reuse concepts to their classmates. One first grade student turned Styrofoam packaging from a wrapped meat package into a replica of a laptop computer! Another created a glittery pink jewelry case from an egg carton.

2 0 1 2 G AC FAC T

A young fashion model on the runway during the Project GreenBerry “Trashion Show,” a collaborative service project of The Berry College Green Team and local schools.

10 million pounds of electronic wa s t e c o l l e c t e d .

Montgomery proudly put together a display of the items in the school hallway. Inspired, she called Keep Columbus Beautiful to ask if this display could travel for others to enjoy. Sherri Palmer, Keep Columbus Beautiful’s program manager, thought the city’s very “green” Mayor Michael B. Coleman would enjoy the students’ work. Mayor Coleman, whose Environmental Office developed a classroom program for first graders called “Green Spot for Kids,” did appreciate the project. So much so that it’s now on display in City Hall.

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Troy-Bilt Supports Greening Initiatives

partne r profile

Gardening Tools and Equipment and Help Clean and Beautify Communities Across the Nation

For the 14th year in a row, Troy-Bilt continued its generous support of the Great American Cleanup (GAC) through its in-kind equipment donations to Keep America Beautiful affiliates and GAC participating organizations throughout the country.

On the Great American Cleanup’s National Day of Action, Keep Oakland Beautiful utilized the straight shaft trimmer to cut down extensive grass and overgrowth in the Verdese Carter Park Community Garden, where 14 planter boxes were built and the garden was replanted and beautified. Volunteers also used the backpack blower to remove leaves and litter from over 33 blocks of the extra-wide Bancroft Avenue median, as well as for foliage and litter removal at Verdese Carter Park and East Oakland PRIDE Elementary School. The equipment will remain in Keep Oakland Beautiful’s tool lockup and be put to use at future events and cleanup efforts.

oakland, ca

Troy-Bilt and its employees were extremely generous in donating equipment, supplies, and their time to Keep Brevard Beautiful. Troy-Bilt employees participated in Keep Brevard Beautiful’s National Day of Action beautification and cleanup project at a local veteran’s complex in Cocoa, Fla. The project was “made better and easier because of Troy-Bilt. The gloves and blowers were very much appreciated. Volunteers were very excited to use the equipment and it made the job enjoyable,” said Tony Sasso, executive director of Keep Brevard Beautiful. Keep Rome Floyd (Ga.) Beautiful barely got the equipment out of the box before they started using it. The string trimmer was in constant use this past spring and summer in ditches, abandoned lots, and along roadsides. Rome’s Tourism Department runs a riverboat along the three rivers in town. “The blower has been a huge help in keeping the boat clean and beautiful and pollenfree.” said Mary Hardin Thornton, director of KRFB. Troy-Bilt equipment has served a valuable role in the care of a 23-acre historic campus at Hamakuapoko on the island of Maui because it’s been instrumental in the maintenance of the property. This site is the headquarters for Keep the Hawaiian Islands Beautiful and future home of the Patsy Takemoto Mink Center for Environmental Education. The equipment is being used onsite and loaned to volunteer groups for projects on the island. Keep the Hawaiian Islands Beautiful’s volunteers are enthusiastic about keeping the campus and project areas beautiful in their island state with the help of Troy-Bilt’s generous donation. Keep Indianapolis Beautiful’s Youth Tree Team used Troy-Bilt

HIGh point, NC

cocoa, FL

deming, NM

TAMPA, FL

equipment in its work throughout the community. They primarily water community trees planted by KIB, but sometimes need to cut overgrowth around a tree’s base. They have found the trimmer to be very handy. The Troy-Bilt blower have been very helpful in clearing sidewalks and occasionally collecting excessive litter. Troy-Bilt was also recognized at KIB’s annual April Great Indy Cleanup event with Greg Ballard, the Mayor of Indianapolis, and 300 volunteers. Keep Morehouse Beautiful partnered with the Dixie League and the City of Bastrop, La., to clean up Carter Park. The day was extremely productive because of the Troy-Bilt blower and trimmer that KMB received. Since KMB is totally comprised of volunteers, and has no committed income, Troy-Bilt’s generous gift to their organization was very welcome. Three new vegetable gardens were built at G.N. Smith, Watkins, and Green Elementary schools in Jackson, Miss., using the Troy-Bilt shovels and garden rakes. Twenty trees were planted at Timberlawn Elementary and Siwell Jr. High School where the shovels were also used. The string trimmer and blowers were used during Great American Cleanup events in neighborhoods, at two parks, and a church. Keep Jackson Beautiful also has Troy-Bilt shovels and garden rakes that were used to develop three new vegetable gardens. Many different groups have used the tools and they are making a big difference in many different areas of Jackson. On the day of its Great American Cleanup project, Keep High Point (N.C.) Beautiful used the weed-eater to trim an area of a low income neighborhood that continues to need beautification. This included yard maintenance needs as well as littler pickup. The blower was used to help move all the clippings away from the curbs and leave a much improved scene. Keep Luna County Beautiful in Deming, N.M., used the blower and trimmer that Troy-Bilt donated to beautify a local Equestrian Center that had been neglected in recent years. Because of the

weed and leaf removal, the community will be able to use a much-improved center again. Keep Akron Beautiful used the equipment that Troy-Bilt donated for its Flowerscape and Adopt-ASite projects. KAB also used the equipment on its Community Pride Trailer, which members of the community can rent for public cleanups. The equipment has been used at two Community Pride Trailer sites— one to create a community garden and another to beautify and create a downtown pocket park. AKRON, OH

Keep Norwalk (Conn.) Beautiful was extremely grateful to Troy-Bilt for the donation of a fourcycle backpack blower and the four-cycle string trimmer. Those Troy-Bilt machines are the only ones KNB uses for blowing accumulated litter and cutting back excessive weed growth in the town’s business centers. “KNB volunteers request the Troy-Bilt machines because they perform well and they know that they are better for the environment,” said Keep Norwalk Beautiful Executive Director David Shockley. The Troy-Bilt machines are also used to clean up neglected traffic islands, vacant lots and assist with community service crews when they tackle a disabled senior citizen’s yard.

“The project was made better and easier because of Troy-Bilt. The gloves and blowers were very much appreciated. Volunteers were very excited to use the equipment and it made the job enjoyable.” To ny Sasso, executive director of Keep Brevard Beautiful

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Gardens and Greenspaces Help Communities Flourish Natural beauty goes far beyond appearances; it creates vibrant communities, more robust economies, and even more healthy and happy residents. In 2012, beautification and greening activities included edible community gardens that helped feed the hungry and educate young gardeners. Multitudes of new tree plantings are providing shade, sequestering carbon and cleansing the air and soil. Flower gardens are creating vibrant gateways to downtown shopping and entertainment districts, forming vital places to live, work, shop and play. Beauty is, indeed, a powerful force.

Keep Glendale Beautiful’s Children Grow Fostering sustainable behavior at an early age has always been a key component of Keep Glendale (Calif.) Beautiful’s outreach and education strategy. For almost 20 years, Keep Glendale Beautiful (KGB) has operated a successful in-school civic pride education program at the elementary school level. In recent years, a Junior Ambassador Program was implemented for the middle school level as the next step for students who “graduate” from the elementary school program. Students who participated in the Junior Ambassador Program expressed an interest in participating in an additional community program, the Monterey Eco-Community Gardens. Their desire to take the next step toward a sustainable lifestyle prompted KGB to create a student-run garden during the Great American Cleanup. During KGB’s 2012 Great American Cleanup, approximately 30 student and faculty volunteers from Wilson Middle School, as well as additional local volunteers, gathered on the school campus to build and plant the school’s new student garden.

Volunteers spent approximately four hours building eight garden beds, which included beds for a variety of plants, vegetables, and herbs. Once the garden was completed, volunteers made the finishing touches by spreading mulch around the garden plots. In addition, students created a partnership with the school cafeteria staff to collect food scraps to be used for composting.

1 million flowers & bulbs planted

82,000 trees planted

3,000 beautification and community greening projects

600 edible community gardens planted or replanted

Glendale, CA

Fort Knox Builds a Military Community Garden Through a Keep America Beautiful Lowe’s Community Improvement Grant Program, Kentucky Clean Community Program built a one-acre vegetable garden for the Fort Knox Military Community. The garden was planted on semi-established vegetation that had formally been mowed by landscape personnel at the military base. There were 220 volunteers who invested their time to permanently repurpose the land into a community garden. The project was inspired by the Governor’s Garden Initiative of Kentucky, which, in this case, brought together military families from several different neighborhoods who are living on the post. Many of these neighbors were not previously connected, as their service had separated them into different companies, battalions and brigades. The military community has a very special and unique culture and the garden project has provided a sense connection among those in the community. As a result of this program, military families have been introduced to gardening, fresh produce, environmental education and nutritional education. In addition, the garden program manager has reached out and connected with two on-post elementary schools and additional schools that are planning their own gardens for 2013.

Keep Charlotte Beautiful Beautifies Girl Scout House As part of its Great American Cleanup effort, Keep Charlotte Beautiful (KCB) in Port Charlotte, Fla., restored the flower beds surrounding the Girl Scout House in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts of the USA. The house, a plain block building, serves more than 440 girls each year and needed some “sprucing up.” Local Girl Scout Troop 433 helped with the project by painting a rain barrel, which provides water for the plants and native species during the dry season. The troop also helped by planting and continued to water the plants often until they were established. Additionally, KCB provided the Girl Scout House with a cart filled with books, games and environmental activities. Keep Charlotte Beautiful believes that the garden will increase the Girl Scouts’ awareness of beautification, and the educational cart will provide them with plenty of fun and information to help earn badges for many girls in the years to come.

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

houston, TX

Keep Houston Beautiful Day featured two major projects coordinated by the Greater East End Management District. Volunteers participated in the cleanup of Japhet Creek Green Finger Park, a natural stream that is the last tributary to Buffalo Bayou on the east side of downtown Houston. In addition, volunteers cleaned up historic Dawson-Lunnon Cemetery, situated in a 100-year-old African-American neighborhood for which a plaque is being sought from the Texas Historical Commission. Keep Houston Beautiful Day also featured a cleanup of the historic College Park Cemetery and a cleanup sponsored by the Woodcrest Neighborhood Civic Association near I-10 and Washington Avenue. Moreover, Worthing High School students and the City of Houston’s Department of Neighborhoods worked on curb painting as part of the Sunnyside project. Volunteers from Houston City Council District B and the Southwest Coalition of Neighborhoods conducted cleanups the following week, and Keep Houston Beautiful led a wide array of projects on Keep America Beautiful’s National Day of Action. Volunteers for the Hermann Park Conservancy planted trees, spanning an eight-acre area.

Keep Houston Beautiful Leads an Array of Cleaning, Greening Initiatives The Great American Cleanup’s spring program period offers community leaders a chance to take on a wide variety of projects over a prolonged period of time—often times, a month or more—in an effort to create more vibrant neighborhoods and build long-lasting bonds among neighbors. During the month of April, the City of Houston, through the leadership of Keep Houston Beautiful (KHB), did just that. And thanks to this collective effort, Houston is now greener and cleaner. Keep Houston Beautiful coordinated a number of projects, including two significant citywide efforts— Keep Houston Beautiful Day on April 14 and the first-ever National Day of Action on April 28. “Volunteers contributed many hours of work to make Houston the beautiful city it is,” said Robin Blut, executive director of Keep Houston Beautiful. “We could not have done this without the support of the individuals, community organizations and businesses that donate their time, expertise and money to this effort.”

“The Hermann Park Conservancy was the grateful recipient of almost 200 trees, which were much needed to replace trees lost to the 2011 summer drought,” said Barbara Jo Harwell, conservation director of HPC. “(It’s) an urban forest in the making!” The Museum Park Super Neighborhood cleaned up that area and mulched trees on the esplanades. And the Houston Museum of Natural Science Conservation Energy Club celebrated Earth Day by inviting organizations to host booths in its Grand Hall with activities to support learning about resource conservation and keeping Houston clean. Also on April 28, the Carverdale Civic Club with Waste Management sponsored a cleanup of R.L. and Cora Johnson Park.

houston, TX

HArveyville, KA

Re-plant, Re-paint, Rebuild, Renew Harveyville

2 0 1 2 G AC FAC T

After a devastating tornado in February 2012, the residents of Harveyville, Kan., a small community located 45 miles southwest of Topeka, were in need of assistance. So Keep America Beautiful—Topeka/Shawnee County (KAB-TSC) took action by creating the “Re-plant, Re-paint, Rebuild, Renew Harveyville” project.

7.9 million volunteer hours

“The damage to the community was severe with 60 percent of the residents having damage to some extent,” said Philicia McKee, executive director of KAB-TSC. Nearly 30 homes were no longer inhabitable and the tornado destroyed the town’s only church. Thanks to a Lowe’s Community Improvement Grant, KABTSC was able to develop a long-range plan to refurbish the community’s primary public facilities—the city’s park, ball field and City Hall—by the time its 75th Annual Harveyville Fair festival took place in September. “These are projects that would not have been completed without Lowe’s and our volunteers,” McKee said.

“With the new facelift, we believe that the residents will take more pride and use those facilities even more than before.” Prior to the fall festival, 120 volunteers from Topeka planted 50 trees and planted nearly 800 flowers. In addition to the Lowe’s Heroes, a number of area volunteer groups demonstrated their community spirit, including representatives from local companies (Frito-Lay, Edward Jones and Security Benefit Group) to school groups (Mission Valley High School and Ft. Hayes State University) to local church groups (Antioch Baptist Church). The volunteers made improvements to 19 properties. After the tornado, everything in the town was pruned, trimmed and re-planted. The volunteers even fixed fences, rebuilt outbuildings and re-painted homes in colors that were chosen by the homeowners. The shelter at the ball field was painted, as were the bleachers. And 700 pounds of grass seed were donated by Lowe’s in Topeka to help re-seed 20 residential properties in Harveyville. “We made friends in Harveyville,” McKee added. “We learned their stories and became a part of their lives. When something becomes ‘every day,’ it begins to be taken for granted. Attitudes of complacency set it. Disasters seem to bring people together through their common bond of loss.”

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

bakersfield, ca

covington, ky

memphis, TN

indianapolis, in

phoenix, az

kihei, hi

Business Districts Receive Makeovers

Keep Guntersville Beautiful Recovers from 2011 Tornado On April 27, 2011, the area surrounding Guntersville, Ala., was hit by a horrible force of nature in the form of a tornado. Because of this terrible blow, the Guntersville community park, which is a key recreational area that serves as the heart of the community, was left as a physical and emotional reminder of the town’s loss. It’s estimated the park lost 50 trees and a great amount of vegetation; park benches and trash/recycling containers were destroyed; and the community suffered from the emotional trauma that such devastation can create. Through a KAB Lowe’s Community Improvement Grant, Keep Guntersville Beautiful was able to bring the community together and lift it from this awful destruction. Community volunteers and Lowe’s Heroes, Lowe’s employee volunteers, came together to install 12 benches, 19 trash receptacles and three recycling containers in the targeted area. More than 100 plants were installed to restore the beauty that the storm-damaged park previously had along the walking trail. In addition, Keep Guntersville Beautiful established a memorial Azalea Trail featuring 130 azaleas. The Azalea Trail serves a dual purpose of providing much-needed color to the park as well as a personal investment in and a special connection to the park for community members.

san diego, ca

On a cold, rainy morning in Springfield, Ohio, 86 intrepid volunteers worked tirelessly to beautify 30 blocks of the downtown business district as part of Keep Clarke County Beautiful’s 3rd Annual Great Downtown Cleanup. Volunteers ranged from elementary school students to Master Gardeners, who joined together to pick up litter, paint over graffiti, pull weeds, lay mulch, and sweep sidewalks. In total, the group contributed nearly 285 volunteer hours and picked up 3,150 pounds of litter from their business community.

Tr e e sc a p e d b u si n e ss d is t ric t s av e r ag e 1 2 % high e r r e v e n u e t h a n t r e e l e ss a r e a s .

In a similar effort, Montgomery (Ala.) Clean City Commission rallied 100 volunteers who worked hard to beautify the Mulberry Business District. The Mulberry Business District is a heavily-traveled street in the heart of Montgomery with many quaint boutiques and eateries along the road. Volunteers picked up 2,000 pounds of litter, removed graffiti from an interstate underpass, built planters and planted flower beds. The area merchants also contributed enough money to purchase three custom iron signs that designated the district.

san diego, ca

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Dow Commits to Corporate Volunteerism

partn e r p rofile

Employee Volunteerism Nearly Doubles in 2012

The Dow Chemical Company demonstrated once again its commitment to making a difference in communities where it has a presence by nearly doubling the number of employee volunteers engaged in Great American Cleanup initiatives in 2012.

In total, more than 1,000 Dow employees volunteered in 59 GAC events across 18 states. Events varied from cleanups to recycling initiatives to beautification and education activities. Moreover, in recognizing the importance of engaging and developing young people as environmental stewards, the company launched a pilot Dow College Cleanup Pilot Program. (See page 36.) Dow employees appreciated the expanded number and timing of the GAC projects, and felt that directing dollars to local events had a catalytic effect in participating communities. The City of Hayward, Calif., sponsored a citywide Keep Hayward Clean and Green event with the help of Dow employee Denise Berube. After Dow volunteers cleaned up South Hayward, they enjoyed a city-sponsored barbeque for the more than 400 volunteers who participated.

Dow AgroSciences in Kaumakani, Hawaii, partnered with The Friends of Kamalani and Lydgate Park to clean up two sections of Ke Ala Hele Makalae in Lydgate Park. Volunteers cleared ironwood needles and 340 pounds of waterlogged driftwood from the Keiki Pond. Dow Chemical volunteers from the Ringwood, Ill., site, led by Cheryl Dawson and Karen Wilkins, worked in conjunction with the Fox Waterway Agency (FWA) to collect 500 pounds of trash and debris for the second year in a row. Volunteers worked along the roadway crossing the channel as well as from a barge provided by the FWA. Several people collected trash from small islands and wetlands in the lake area as well as along the shores of the channel between Petite Lake and Bluff Lake.

NEWARK, DE

Also in California, Dow Pittsburg Operations partnered with Keep Pittsburg (Calif.) Beautiful to clean up Kirker Creek, which runs along the Pittsburg-Antioch Highway. Volunteers removed three truckloads of trash from an illegal dump site and an additional two truckloads of trash from the creek bed. The majority of volunteers were students from Pittsburg High School. The Christina Conservancy partnered with Dow Electronic Materialsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; employees from Newark, Del., to volunteer at the Christina River Watershed Cleanup. Approximately 800 community and corporate volunteers cleaned up nearly 20 tons of trash and other debris from along the Christina River and its tributaries.

st. charles parish, LA

Dow employees from the Wilmington, Ill., site assisted the Wilmington Park District by painting trash bins for the upcoming summer baseball program. In addition, several volunteers assisted in greening the Riley Fox Memorial Garden and cleaning the play area at the Booth School. Tammy Stevens of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful was joined by 30 Dow employees to clean up 20 miles of roadway, five acres of public lands and two miles of shoreline along Fall Creek. They also cleaned 20 illegal dump sites, planted 11 trees and one edible garden in the area. Barbara Franzell, along with 14 fellow Dow employees, teachers and students from the Cane Run antioch, il Elementary School, worked together to clean up the 1.5 miles of roadside near their site in Louisville, Ky. At the end of the day, they had a total of 19 bags of trash collected. Jordan Tremblay, Dow’s St. Charles Operations’ public affairs manager, partnered with Keep West Baton Rouge (La.) Beautiful for its Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day. West Baton Rouge residents dropped off more than 17,000 pounds of household hazardous materials and technology equipment. The Dow Chemical Company was again the major sponsor, providing both funding and volunteers. Also collected at this event were 92 tires, 275 pounds of vegetable oil, 2,200 pounds of motor oil, 440 pounds of anti-freeze, 1,444 pounds of batteries, and 1,750 pounds of paint. The Dow West Alexandria, Ohio, site partnered with the United Way and Preble County United Way to prepare the Eaton Community Pool for the summer. Two separate events were held on May 4 and May 11. Employees assisted with landscaping, painting, cleaning and pressure washing to prepare the pool for the summer. After the event, Josh Haynes, executive director for the Preble County YMCA,

bay city, mi

reading, OH

expressed gratitude for Dow’s support, commenting that the volunteer effort saved the YMCA 80 hours of paid labor. Haynes is looking forward to working with Dow employees again in the future. Houston Dow Center employees celebrated the week of Earth Day by participating in a week-long Electronics Recycling Event, sponsored by CORE (HDC building owner), with 16 Dow employees serving as volunteers. The collection was open to Dow employees, contractors and retirees. Volunteers assisted with unloading and packing items for recycling. Items were picked up by local electronics recycling company CompuCycle for sorting, recycling and/or proper disposal. Dow’s Houston Area Operations employees also volunteered at the Simms Bayou Trash Bash in doing their part. They also participated in the largest statewide event to educate the public about the importance of preserving water resources. In Lake Jackson, Texas, Dow employees partnered with Keep Lake Jackson Beautiful to pick up trash from various locations throughout the city that are notoriously littered. Volunteers were given red Dow volunteer shirts, heavy-duty work gloves, a trash grabber and plenty of trash bags. Some groups went to the historic downtown area; others went to major greenbelts in front of a local mall and strip shopping centers. By noon, the volunteers returned loads of trash back to the trash collection area at City Hall where there was celebratory luncheon.

1,000

Dow employees volunteered in 59 GAC events.

The Dow site in Port Lavaca, Texas, partnered with the Calhoun County Independent School District to sponsor an e-Recycle and Tire collection at the local Partners in Education Office. The collection was held in conjunction with the Grand Opening of the Dow Sustainability Education Center, an interactive environmental education center for students to learn about recycling.

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Educational Programs and Volunteering Energize Communities Volunteerism is at the heart of the American spirit. In 2012, 4.2 million volunteers and participants joined the Great American Cleanup, investing their time and passion in their communities. United in a common cause, people of all ages dedicated 7.9 million hours to efforts that improved their local surroundings and taught valuable lessons about the merit of taking responsibility for one’s community environment.

Ord High School Goes Above and Beyond Keep Loup Basin (Neb.) Beautiful (KLBB) partnered with Ord High School for its “Service Learning Day” during the Great American Cleanup. The “Service Learning Day” is a way for the students and school staff to give back to their community by working on numerous individual projects to beautify and improve Ord neighborhoods. Eighty-six percent of the 267 students and teachers in the Ord High School community volunteered their time and effort to the Great America Cleanup. The major beautification project that took place was the transformation of the front of Ord High School into a green space. Students and administration worked for more than a month cleaning, digging, mulching, planting, and laying sod to make a more inviting place for students and staff alike. The Ord High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) also worked on landscaping around the school’s new parking lot. In addition to the beautification projects, the Ord High School students dispersed throughout the community to pick up litter. In one day, a total of more than 100 GLAD® trash bags were collected for a total of 4,000 pounds of litter. The Ord High

School students also volunteered to help unload vehicles at a KLBB recycling event. The end result was 18,296 pounds of appliances, 24,347 pounds of electronics, and 1,178 pounds of batteries collected in one April morning. The results of the Ord High School Service Day Project were very visible to the community. And the students will have the opportunity to continue to volunteer for environmental projects through the school for years to come.

shreveport, LA

Coordinated employee volunteerism programs have burgeoned as corporations have sought ways to engage their employees in corporate social responsibility initiatives. Numerous Phoenix-area corporations had contacted Keep Phoenix Beautiful (KPB) in the past few years seeking opportunities for their employees to get involved in local, environmental projects. As a result, in 2009 KPB developed “The Corporate Challenge,” which allows corporate volunteer groups to work on various project sites through a friendly, competitive framework. Once all the corporate groups were recruited and assembled, KPB worked with the City of Phoenix and the City of Tempe to determine and assign project sites. Each group had a diverse set of tasks to accomplish at a site, which might have included anything from planting trees to painting bleachers to removing trash or cleaning playground equipment. Some of the sites included the Arizona Audubon Center; a local nonprofit called Horses Help; many parks and elementary schools; a desert wash habitat; and a community garden.

The final statistics demonstrated a high level of corporate involvement–a total of 445 volunteers worked at 14 project sites, contributing 1,780 hours to the community. Keep Phoenix Beautiful’s Corporate Challenge is a wonderfully unique event that brings together environmentally-committed companies, motivated volunteers and other nonprofit organizations, all with the common goal of making Phoenix more beautiful.

0 0 6 , 3

Number of community recreation areas cleaned or restored DURING THE 2012 GAC

2 0 1 2 G AC FAC T

Keep Phoenix Beautiful’s Corporate Challenge

The winning group received the Corporate Challenge Traveling Trophy to keep in its office for a year; the other participating companies received a plaque for participating. This year’s winner of the Corporate Challenge Traveling Trophy was Intel.

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Keep Lake Jackson Beautiful’s First “Servolution” For this year’s Great American Cleanup, Keep Lake Jackson (Texas) Beautiful (KLJB) conducted its first-ever “Servolution 2012” in collaboration with the Brazos Pointe Fellowship Church. On the morning of March 7, volunteers met at Brazos Pointe Church for a pep rally, followed by a Mayoral Proclamation. Once each person was assigned to his or her team and had supplies, the 1,000 eager volunteers marched out to the sound of the Buc Band’s music cheering them on.

TAMPA BAY, FL

Keep Tularosa Beautiful Works Hard to Play Before Keep Tularosa (N.M.) Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup event, the families on the west side of Tularosa did not have a park or any recreational facility for their children to play. KTB’s community improvement project was to plant trees in several areas around the town’s Little League Field area that would provide shade and relief from the heat. In addition, KTB aspired to build a playground for the children to enjoy. Thanks to a Lowe’s Community Improvement Grant, KTB was able to make this dream come true by establishing The Happy Hearts and Helping Hands Park. Volunteers built and installed playground equipment including a swing set, teeter-totters, a climbing gym set with slides, and a merry-go-round. Volunteers also built and installed three picnic tables and four park benches in the park.

3,436

EVE N T S CO N DU C TED T H R O U G H O UT T H E S TATE O F TE X A S

The Happy Hearts and Helping Hands Park was constructed with the help of volunteers from the Holloman Air Force Base as well as others in the community. Additional services were provided by the Lowe’s Heroes, the volunteer corps from the local Lowe’s store, as well as other local businesses. The Happy Hearts and Helping Hands Park became a reality and put the “Unity in Community,” giving the citizens of Tularosa a much-needed recreational facility. The families that live on the west side of Tularosa and their friends now have a new park and playground that provides them a shady, safe environment to enjoy.

These committed volunteers spent more than six hours completing 30 projects. Some of the projects included painting and cleaning at the Women’s Center, a creek cleanup project at the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, cleaning and buffing the floor at the Thrift Store-Salvation Army, and painting signs at local fire stations.

san diego, ca

tampa bay, FL

In addition to “Servolution 2012,” KLJB and Southern Brazoria County worked together with Dow Chemical for the Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off/ Great American Cleanup on April 14. During this event, all 347 volunteers plus KLJB Board Members collected 180 pounds of litter and 33 gallons of recyclables. A Paper Shredding program was also added to the event with great success. In just four hours, volunteers collected approximately 12,000 pounds of paper to be recycled!

Keep North Charleston Beautiful Builds Relationships that Beautify Starting in January 2012, Keep North Charleston N.C. Beautiful began planning beautification events with members of the community who desired to contribute to the Great American Cleanup’s “Clean Cities Sweep.” Participants included school groups, neighborhood members and community groups. Once registered, the groups were provided with a $100 gift card to Lowe’s for their project as well as discounts on supplies and plants. The Lowe’s team also worked closely with each group to help them design and assemble a plan for the projects. This year, the event has grown to 22,500 volunteers. There was an impressive turnout of students from 23 schools who contributed. To encourage maximum participation, each group received a $100 gift card only when at least 50 percent of the

athens, al

students participated. In working with the students, members of the Keep North Charleston Beautiful staff spoke with them about environmental issues. They also told them about Keep North Charleston Beautiful’s various programs, how they are conducted, where to get resources, and gave the students ideas about how they can get involved through their schools. Keep North Charleston Beautiful Executive Director Carmen Lane Hanlon explained that the relationships they are building with people and schools are very important. In addition, she is excited to have even more participants next year because children from the pre-schools want to get involved as well.

milwaukee, wi

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett joins Auer Avenue School students for a Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful cleanup.

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

temescal valley, ca

charlotte, fl

columbus junction, IA

milwaukee, wi

Keep Bakersfield Beautiful’s Volunteers are Committed

College Athletes Volunteer for Dow Chemical Grants

Keep Bakersfield (Calif.) Beautiful (KBB) has made it a tradition for several thousand people to show their collective pride in their community through their annual Great American Cleanup Day. Volunteers for the local GAC are extremely committed and spirited. In fact, on April 14, more than 8,500 volunteers committed to the main event despite rain, mud and wind.

Great American Cleanup National Sponsor Dow Chemical launched the Dow College Cleanup Program throughout midMichigan during this year’s GAC. The goal of the program is to engage college students with their local communities through the GAC and, in return, the student organizations receive a $500 project grant from Dow Chemical.

The passel of volunteers cleaned up 201,780 pounds of litter and illegally dumped items, painted over 38,800 square feet of graffiti, recycled or composted 1,000 pounds of various compostable items, planted 120 trees, and beautified five sites, two of which will eventually become community gardens.

Among the many students that volunteered were a number of collegiate athletes. Saginaw Valley State University Women’s Club Soccer Team members came out on a rainy Sunday afternoon to clean up a mile of the Bay City State Park shoreline. The Dow College Cleanup Program grant provided the team with money that they can use to purchase new uniforms and soccer gear. The team of 13 women divided and conquered different areas of the shore where they picked up trash, bottles and cans. Team members also got into a canoe to pick debris out of a lagoon. They then continued into the campground to tidy up the park by picking up sticks and branches, and raking out the flower beds to prepare them for spring planting.

“We had the illegal dump sites getting cleaned up, about 100 trees planted and all the flowers going in. These projects last for a while and leave a nice impact on the area,” said Jessica Felix, community relations specialist for Keep Bakersfield Beautiful. From September through the end of June, 11,071 GAC volunteers cleaned up more than 255,000 pounds of litter and illegally dumped items, painted over 63,000 square feet of graffiti, recycled or composted nearly 140,000 pounds of food waste, planted 170 trees and 1,600 bulbs, flowers and shrubs, and beautified seven sites. Lasting change can happen when people work together, which has been in evidence with such a high level of dedication in Bakersfield.

The Northwood University Timberwolves football team also participated in the Dow grant program after playing in its first spring scrimmage. A team spokesperson told the Midland Daily News, “This was a great opportunity for Northwood to team up with Dow Chemical in showing their support for the greater Midland area.” The team of 125 players and coaches traveled to the Shelter House and separated into groups to work on different areas. The team raked leaves, cleaned the grounds and removed trash from two acres of land around the river. They also mulched in playground areas and around flower beds. Assistant Coach Kasey Teegardin said, “Many hands make light work. With our 125 players working diligently, we were able to handle a weeks’ worth of work in only three hours of time.”

springfield, ohio

Volunteer Action Proves to be ‘Contagious’ Volunteers taking action in a wide array of springtime projects is one of the hallmarks of a successful local Great American Cleanup program. Keep Clark County Beautiful (KCCB) in Springfield, Ohio, was representative of the more than 38,000 different organizations that produced community-building events this year.

2 0 1 2 G AC FAC T

Carly Woodrow, executive director of KCCB, reported that KCCB’s 2012 Great American Cleanup produced another year of great results. Nearly 1,900 volunteers participated, cleaning up and beautifying more than 100 public spaces through 4,000 hours of donated volunteer time.

Number of E d u cat i onal wo r kshops o r p r e s e n tat i ons con d u c t e d

7,000

The Great American Cleanup is “a way to not only do something tremendously positive to enhance our neighborhoods, parks and roadways, but it instills a sense of pride that’s truly contagious,” Compton told the Springfield News-Sun. “I’m really proud to be a part of this effort.” The variety of projects that were undertaken was equally impressive. Despite cool weather and some rain, 86

conyers, ga

participants turned out to pick up litter, pull weeds and lay mulch, remove graffiti, collect dumped scrap tires and spruce up about 30 blocks of downtown Springfield during the 3rd Annual Downtown Cleanup in April. Students from Wittenberg University, Springfield High School, and the Ridgewood School painted over graffiti along the multi-use trails in four different locations during three separate paint-out events. There were 27,000 graffiti-laden sites that were removed or abated during the 2012 GAC. Beyond school groups, volunteers from various fraternal and environmental groups participated, including the Boy Scouts of America, the 4-H, the Kiwanis Club and the Greater Springfield Friends of the Trails, among others. These committed volunteers combined to collect more than 20 tons of litter and debris from March through May.

pearland, tx

Gr eat A m er ican Cle anu p // 201 2 Re p ort

EVENTS/VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers/participants............................................4.2 million Volunteer hours...........................................................7.9 million Communities involved/events..........................21,000/30,000 Community groups that participated........................... 38,000 CLEANUPS

Litter & debris collected (lbs)................................... 87 million Roads, streets, highways . cleaned/beautified (miles)..............................................90,000 Parks & public lands cleaned (acres)........................... 193,000 Hiking, biking & nature trails cleaned (miles)...............3,300 Playgrounds & community recreation areas . cleaned/restored/constructed...........................................3,600

2012 Official Results

Rivers, lakes & shorelines cleaned (miles)....................10,500 Underwater cleanups conducted......................................... 150 Wetlands cleaned & improved (acres).............................5,500 Illegal dump sites cleaned..................................................7,200 REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

Clothing collected for reuse (lbs)........................... 8.6 million Aluminum & steel recycled (lbs)............................. 4.5 million Newspaper recycled (lbs)........................................ 109 million

The following reflects Keep America Beautifulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Great American Cleanup results. These figures were derived from reports obtained from KAB affiliates and Great American Cleanup participating organizations.*

Tires collected for recycling.....................................1.6 million Batteries collected for recycling (lbs).........................280,000 Electronics recycled (lbs).......................................... 10 million PET (plastic) bottles collected for recycling....... 190 million Glass collected for recycling (lbs).............................. 8 million Junk cars removed/collected for recycling....................3,500 BEAUTIFICATION

Flowers & bulbs planted...............................................1 million Beautification and community greening projects........ 3,000 Edible community gardens planted or replanted............600 Trees planted......................................................................82,000 Residential & commercial buildings . painted/renovated/built..................................................... 1,300 Graffiti removal/sites abated...........................................27,000 EDUCATION

Educational workshops held.............................................7,000 Educational workshop attendees (total)............... 5.8 million Adults.........................................................................3.7 million Children.....................................................................2.1 million General awareness events held.........................................4,700 General awareness event attendees..................... 12.4 million

*Based on reports from the participating organizations.

Measuring Results State-by-State At the conclusion of their local activities, Great American Cleanup participating organizations are encouraged to provide a wrap-up report detailing the scope and diversity of their efforts. The following pages show their 2012 responses and provide an interesting snapshot of activities spanning the nation.

State

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Events/Volunteers Events Held

679

RNA

324

1,681

Volunteers/Participants

564,588

RNA

11,934

74,989

151,045

956

6,720

Volunteer Hours

345,700

RNA

46,476

136,736

514,952

224

17,680

2,052

RNA

264

851

667,960

RNA

96,040

8,156,700

1,898,224

1,250

12,500

1,649

RNA

120

3,256

944

Parks & Public Lands Cleaned (acres)

709

RNA

12,406

Hiking/Biking/Nature Trails Cleaned (miles)

130

RNA

393

Playgrounds/Community/Recreation Areas Built, Cleaned, or Beautified

RNA

507

Rivers, Lakes, or Shorelines Cleaned (miles)

119

RNA

1,491

RNA

Wetlands Cleaned or Improved (acres)

RNA

1,808

Illegal Dump Sites Cleaned

RNA

226

346

Clothing Collected for Reuse (lbs)

51,590

RNA

1,500

3,978

Aluminum & Steel Recycled (lbs)

89,883

RNA

495,194

2,585

8,923,319

RNA

65,000

1,725,979

7,990

RNA

21,095

RNA

4,028

Electronics Collected for Recycling (lbs)

403,994

RNA

49,200

509,813

84,607

10,000

PET (Plastic) Bottles Collected for Recycling

7,101,050

RNA

10,288

4,920,840

51,443

Glass Collected for Recycling (lbs)

669,410

RNA

188,020

RNA

Beautification/Community Greening Projects

RNA

593

Edible Community Gardens Planted/ Replanted

RNA

Flowers/Bulbs Planted

8,195

RNA

16,855

2,155

Trees Planted

6,176

RNA

1,423

3,036

RNA

422

RNA

5,695

380

1,039

RNA

236,411/ 110,445

RNA

372/ 150

19,957/ 7,335

10,810/ 49,857

715/ 315

0/300

756

RNA

128

281,215

RNA

30,000

3,645

83,250

Communities Involved/ Community Groups that Participated Cleanups Litter & Debris Collected (lbs) Roads, Streets, Highways Cleaned/Beautified (miles)

Underwater Cleanups Conducted

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Paper Collected for Recycling (lbs) Tires Collected for Recycling Batteries Collected for Recycling (lbs)

Junk Cars Removed/Collected for Recycling Beautification

Residential & Commercial Buildings Painted/Renovated/Built Graffiti Sites Removed or Abated Education Educational Workshops Educational Workshop Attendees (Adults/Children) General Awareness Events General Awareness Event Attendees RNA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Report not available as of presstime.

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

RNA

7,672

954

101

RNA

268,589

634,473

RNA

562,388

RNA

iowa

kansas

Kentucky

RNA

168

371

100

39,819

RNA

59,836

22,411

4,539

431,354

23,540

761,412

156,324

RNA

93,196

63,364

17,548

92,780

84,256

2,460

5,690

152

RNA

665

528

114

382

RNA

4,239,538

1,976,022

29,860

RNA

351,193

1,397,160

95,205

962,340

25,292

RNA

6,273

6,927

RNA

521

270

166

2,468

886

RNA

5,293

1,166

RNA

1,805

1,580

107

RNA

211

136

RNA

184

171

RNA

4,138

536

RNA

1,968

121

RNA

472

171

RNA

883,426

RNA

267,750

1,280

672

130

RNA

169,246

438,447

814

RNA

150,386

254,203

200

36,648

124

RNA

126,166

9,081,959

RNA

607,670

196,403

273

946,176

39,759

RNA

59,954

56,702

RNA

2,700

2,233

2,700

188

RNA

4,546

10,863

RNA

146

RNA

130,582

1,002,615

147

RNA

285,287

30,000

38,015

74,843

265

RNA

1,009,784

15,145,627

4,768

RNA

3,486,291

711,140

2,280

52,020

4,040

RNA

1,503,212

2,061,875

335

RNA

265,875

35,557

280,440

RNA

103

RNA

151

148

RNA

33,699

8,311

RNA

5,710

1,008

1,143

100,370

582

RNA

1,927

1,298

RNA

117

RNA

169

RNA

155

209

RNA

394

RNA

586

584

640

RNA

700,433/ 470,853

433,562/ 414,593

2,659/ 6,208

RNA

90,258/ 69,672

5,760/ 6,117

80/ 1,388

12,288/ 1,436

350/ 5,285

RNA

150

610

RNA

2,672,213

2,308,575

3,873

RNA

9,280

11,545

2,643

18,419

State

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

mass.

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Events/Volunteers Events Held

111

RNA

551

Volunteers/Participants

66,740

659

2,381

11,858

RNA

17,023

Volunteer Hours

61,256

716

6,024

28,196

RNA

33,168

694

330

RNA

315

406,069

167

34,740

57,000

17,448,340

RNA

177,420

Roads, Streets, Highways Cleaned/Beautified (miles)

695

RNA

407

Parks & Public Lands Cleaned (acres)

357

621

RNA

174

Hiking, Biking & Nature Trails Cleaned (miles)

RNA

Playgrounds/Community/Recreation Areas Built, Cleaned, or Beautified

RNA

Rivers, Lakes & Shorelines Cleaned (miles)

RNA

Underwater Cleanups Conducted

RNA

Wetlands Cleaned or Improved (acres)

RNA

110

500

RNA

Clothing Collected for Reuse (lbs)

2,675

500

RNA

125

Aluminum & Steel Recycled (lbs)

16,355

2,000

RNA

16,755

1,474,411

300

RNA

24,325

10,951

700

3,797

RNA

2,673

Batteries Collected for Recycling (lbs)

33,839

900

500

RNA

2,495

Electronics Collected for Recycling (lbs)

126,040

2,000

400

144,000

RNA

61,730

PET (Plastic) Bottles Collected for Recycling

8,239,648

120

864

RNA

31,040

Glass Collected for Recycling (lbs)

100

1,000

RNA

685

Junk Cars Removed/Collected for Recycling

125

RNA

Beautification/Community Greening Projects

RNA

Edible Community Gardens Planted/ Replanted

RNA

62,678

200

24,054

RNA

13,342

1,234

651

497

RNA

372

Residential & Commercial Buildings Painted/Renovated/Built

RNA

Graffiti Sites Removed or Abated

RNA

42,920/ 56,445

0/0

28/28

0/400

1,680/ 3,018

RNA

49,601/ 13,653

RNA

23,660

10,383

RNA

201,434

Communities Involved/ Community Groups that Participated Cleanups Litter & Debris Collected (lbs)

Illegal Dump Sites Cleaned Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Paper Collected for Recycling (lbs) Tires Collected for Recycling

Beautification

Flowers/Bulbs Planted Trees Planted

Education Educational Workshops Educational Workshop Attendees (Adults/Children) General Awareness Events General Awareness Event Attendees RNA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Report not available as of presstime.

Missouri

montana

nebraska

nevada

n. hampshire

new jersey

new mexico

new york

n. carolina

n. dakota

426

RNA

133

2,251

519

RNA

6,755

637

172,530

598

RNA

103

33,718

168,241

241,639

RNA

3,828

2,240

431,856

2,292

RNA

412

62,044

629,152

563,956

RNA

100

568

RNA

124

2,501

1,406

RNA

42,702

12,760

3,783,035

186,000

RNA

20,000

2,405,513

229,973

769,751

RNA

2,636

RNA

599

1,106

9,335

RNA

2,665

1,762

100

RNA

422

511

4,524

RNA

387

RNA

436

RNA

170

RNA

146

166

RNA

154

1,625

135

RNA

1,693

1,560

RNA

150

1,960

2,510

1,268

RNA

300

121

91,010

RNA

5,214

1,648,555

225,993

RNA

69,859

1,708,307

RNA

10,428

63,224,755

1,625,402

RNA

321

2,479

339

RNA

21,894

16,909

381,406

RNA

2,802

RNA

1,626

1,350

44,660

RNA

212,920

RNA

141,929

593,098

126,670

RNA

12,217

1,000

953,546

RNA

79,780

32,979,900

9,989,959

RNA

2,418

16,711

23,975

RNA

3,440

1,648,620

125,211

RNA

204

988

1,502

RNA

143

189

255

RNA

1,127

4,234

RNA

20,000

453

28,218

458,816

RNA

768

RNA

619

40,270

3,411

RNA

917

RNA

2,202

3,265

RNA

357

RNA

250

585

RNA

166,611/ 476

214/185

55,985/ 28,405

250/150

RNA

0/0

79,445/ 14,816

8,550/ 23,054

48,169/ 164,201

RNA

244

RNA

109

185

RNA

144,500

200

401,653

RNA

38,814

21,200

925,944

RNA

State

ohio

oklahoma

oregon

pennsylvania

rhode island

s. carolina

s. dakota

Events/Volunteers Events Held

671

557

RNA

4,493

601

185,014

84,742

RNA

315,401

1,435

81,095

4,122

429,280

178,212

RNA

913,812

5,740

155,804

5,072

2,006

1,212

RNA

10,377

792

4,520,201

5,418,393

RNA

9,041,567

14,660

999,472

8,760

Roads, Streets, Highways Cleaned/Beautified (miles)

3,699

1,937

RNA

12,941

1,959

Parks & Public Lands Cleaned (acres)

4,362

15,470

RNA

13,900

580

Hiking, Biking & Nature Trails Cleaned (miles)

170

114

RNA

432

Playgrounds/Community/Recreation Areas Built, Cleaned, or Beautified

305

161

RNA

120

Rivers, Lakes & Shorelines Cleaned (miles)

145

212

RNA

618

208

RNA

Wetlands Cleaned or Improved (acres)

507

268

RNA

206

Illegal Dump Sites Cleaned

376

112

RNA

242

175

Clothing Collected for Reuse (lbs)

67,800

6,165

RNA

10,472

122,590

Aluminum & Steel Recycled (lbs)

4,166

13,241

RNA

44,134

56,311

155

5,352,412

42,561

RNA

4,900

3,821,917

146,056

8,604

RNA

20,490

680,008

4,931

1,229

RNA

605

68,694

115

393,235

223,009

RNA

253,549

86,203

3,190

PET (Plastic) Bottles Collected for Recycling

2,075,766

82,160

RNA

4,000

1,000

56,080,511

1,518

Glass Collected for Recycling (lbs)

2,067

694

RNA

200

750,519

RNA

Beautification/Community Greening Projects

257

RNA

167

Edible Community Gardens Planted/ Replanted

RNA

111,973

3,230

RNA

21,764

5,313

2,237

1,370

RNA

835

389

Residential & Commercial Buildings Painted/Renovated/Built

358

RNA

Graffiti Sites Removed or Abated

396

RNA

922

RNA

153

199

69,341/ 72,108

13,631/ 14,255

RNA

15,745/ 35,743

0/500

34,417/ 37,193

1,640/ 2,332

134

122

RNA

154

241

1,145,644

125,487

RNA

15,243

44,656

30,000

Volunteers/Participants Volunteer Hours Communities Involved/ Community Groups that Participated Cleanups Litter & Debris Collected (lbs)

Underwater Cleanups Conducted

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Paper Collected for Recycling (lbs) Tires Collected for Recycling Batteries Collected for Recycling (lbs) Electronics Collected for Recycling (lbs)

Junk Cars Removed/Collected for Recycling Beautification

Flowers/Bulbs Planted Trees Planted

tennessee

texas

utah

vermont

virginia

washington

west virginia

wisconsin

wyoming

1,640

3,436

RNA

963

RNA

462

237,109

182,421

RNA

26,148

425

RNA

62,923

1,727

378,756

542,976

RNA

164

80,624

500

RNA

229,272

6,816

1,487

1,619

RNA

495

RNA

9,393,861

10,354,051

RNA

186

1,191,056

1,561

RNA

8,420

21,772

11,928

8,584

RNA

3,123

RNA

4,202

1,371

116,864

RNA

503

RNA

5,404

243

540

RNA

212

454

RNA

186

487

1,244

RNA

175

RNA

139

RNA

265

RNA

100

1,862

271

RNA

100

7,089,536

26,962

RNA

8,820

400

RNA

2,401

98,311

182,980

RNA

25,662

426

RNA

421,415

2,722,376

2,735,187

RNA

227,303

450

RNA

4,139,010

21,981

159,773

RNA

623

RNA

401

74,216

26,453

RNA

178

RNA

672,559

2,952,159

RNA

222,170

450

RNA

1,250,001

4,825,912

14,370,363

RNA

1,500

5,000

RNA

26,008,920

5,431

5,880

RNA

148,680

605

RNA

253,652

200

RNA

176

341

RNA

28,578

44,838

RNA

665

RNA

21,000

9,400

3,558

RNA

359

RNA

2,000

358

192

RNA

145

RNA

315

1,374

RNA

296

587

290

RNA

497,643/ 112,682

1,062,056/ 240,976

RNA

0/0

42,737/ 28,418

10/45

RNA

761/ 13,000

210/890

254

1,039

RNA

1,271,401

2,334,671

RNA

35,729

250

RNA

120,025

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Affiliates and Participating Organizations ALABAMA Keep Alabama Beautiful Keep Albertville Beautiful Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful Keep Auburn beautiful Keep Birmingham Beautiful Commission Keep Etowah Beautiful Keep Guntersville Beautiful, Inc. Keep Mobile Beautiful Keep Opelika Beautiful Keep Saraland Beautiful Keep The Shoals Beautiful Montgomery Clean City Commission Operation Green Team Keeping Huntsville Beautiful ARIZONA Keep Arizona Beautiful Keep Phoenix Beautiful Keep Scottsdale Beautiful ARKANSAS Keep Arkansas Beautiful Arkansas Canoe Club – NWA Chapter Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department – Adopt-a-Highway program Barkada Community Association Beautify Fort Smith Beaver Watershed Alliance Benton County Government Benton County Planning & Environmental Brookland EAST students Buffalo National River Partners Buffalo River Chapter Ozark Society Cabot City Beautiful, Inc. Camden Community Appearance Committee Canal Gardens Property Owners Association Cane Creek State Park Carlisle Chamber of Commerce Church of the Nazarene City of Ashdown City of Bauxite City of Bentonville City of Brookland City of Camden City of Carlisle City of DeQueen City of El Dorado City of Greenwood City of Harrison City of Haskell City of Mulberry City of Portland

City of West Memphis City of Wrightsville Councilwomen Cleaner & Safer Blytheville Conway County Government Cossatot River State Park Natural Area Crowley’s Ridge State Park Cub Scout Pack 117 of All Souls Church Dark Hollow Community Dowell Evans Ministries Drew County Eureka Springs (O.W.A.L.) Eureka Springs Downtown Network Fort Smith National Historic Site GFWC Warren Woman’s Club Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce Harrisburg Historic Washington State Park Hot Springs/Garland County Beautification Commission Hughes City Beautiful Jonesboro Keep Fairfield Bay Beautiful Keep Faulkner County Beautiful Keep Jacksonville Beautiful Keep Little Rock Beautiful Keep North Little Rock Beautiful Keep Ozark Beautiful Keep Sherwood Beautiful Keep Van Buren Beautiful Lake Fayetteville Watershed Partnership Lake Poinsett Community Association Lake Poinsett State Park Little Rock Main Street Helena Mammoth Spring State Park Manila McNeil (Vision) MEDC Property Inspection New Edinburg Community Center North Arkansas College Green Team North Little Rock (New Horizon) Phillips County 4-H Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Clean & Beautiful Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park Scull Creek Sebastian County RSWMD South End Neighborhood Assoc. Coalition, Inc. Springdale Public Library Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce Town of Avoca Town of Hatfield Trumann

Turner Bend-Mulberry River U.S. Corps of Engineers USFWS – Felsenthal NWR Village Pride West End Neighborhood Association Westside High School AFJROTC Woodland Heights Baptist Church Woodson Community Action Council CALIFORNIA Keep California Beautiful I Love A Clean San Diego, Inc. Keep Bakersfield Beautiful Keep Carson Beautiful Keep Commerce Beautiful Keep Downey Beautiful Keep Glendale Beautiful Keep Los Angeles Beautiful Keep Oakland Beautiful Keep Riverside Clean & Beautiful COlorado Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful, Inc. Keep Denver Beautiful Keep La Junta Beautiful Keep Woodland Park Beautiful The Meadows Neighborhood Company CONNECTICUT Friends of the Lake (Lake Lillinonah) Keep New Milford Beautiful Keep Norwalk Beautiful Knox Parks Foundation Town of Stratford FLORIDA Keep Florida Beautiful Keep Alachua County Beautiful Keep Brevard Beautiful Keep Broward Beautiful Keep Calhoun County Beautiful, Inc. Keep Charlotte Beautiful Florida Keep Citrus County Beautiful Keep Clay Beautiful, Inc. Keep Collier Beautiful Keep Ft. Pierce Beautiful Keep Highlands Co Beautiful Keep Indian River Beautiful, Inc Keep Jacksonville Beautiful Keep Lake Placid Beautiful Keep Lee County Beautiful Keep Manatee Beautiful Keep Marion Beautiful, Inc. Keep Martin Beautiful

Keep Nassau Beautiful, Inc. Keep Orlando Beautiful Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful, Inc. Keep Pasco Beautiful Keep Pensacola Beautiful Keep Pinellas Beautiful, Inc. Keep Polk County Beautiful, Inc. Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful Keep Putnam Beautiful, Inc. Keep Sarasota County Beautiful Keep Tallahassee-Leon County Beautiful Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful Keep Taylor County Beautiful Keep Volusia County Beautiful Keep Wakulla County Beautiful Keep Winter Park Beautiful Lakeland Clean & Beautiful Santa Rosa Clean Community System, Inc GEORGIA Keep Georgia Beautiful Candler County Landfill Chickamauga Woman’s Club City of Berkeley Lake City of Blairsville City of Blythe City of Emerson City of Holly Springs City of Keysville City of Leesburg City of Manchester City of Metter City of Norcross City of Offerman City of Senoia City of Sky Valley City of Thomaston City of Villa Rica City of Woodstock Cusseta-Chattahoochee Chamber of Commerce Forsyth Better Home Town Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful Recycling Bank of Gwinnett Jefferson County Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful Keep Alpharetta Beautiful Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful Keep Atlanta Beautiful Keep Barrow Beautiful Keep Bartow Beautiful Keep Brunswick-Golden Isles Beautiful Keep Bulloch Beautiful Keep Carroll Beautiful Keep Chatsworth-Murray Beautiful Keep Cobb Beautiful Keep Columbia County Beautiful Keep Columbus Beautiful Commission Keep Conyers-Rockdale Beautiful Keep Covington/Newton Beautiful Keep Crisp Beautiful Keep Dade Beautiful

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Keep Dawson County Beautiful Keep Decatur County Beautiful Keep DeKalb Beautiful Keep Douglasville Beautiful Keep Dublin-Laurens Beautiful, Inc. Keep East Point Beautiful Keep Forest Park Beautiful, Inc. Keep Forsyth County Beautiful Keep Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield Beautiful Keep Grady County Beautiful Keep Habersham Beautiful Keep Hall Beautiful Keep Jackson County Beautiful Keep Jones Beautiful Commission Keep Kennesaw Beautiful Keep Liberty Beautiful Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Keep Madison County Beautiful Keep Marietta Beautiful Keep McIntosh Beautiful Keep Newnan Beautiful Keep North Fulton Beautiful, Inc. Keep Oconee County Beautiful Commission Keep Our Mountains Beautiful Keep Paulding Beautiful Keep Peach County Clean & Beautiful Keep Perry Beautiful Keep Pickens Beautiful Keep Polk Beautiful Keep Randolph Beautiful Keep Roberta/Crawford Beautiful Keep Rome Floyd Beautiful Keep Roswell Beautiful Keep Savannah Beautiful Keep Screven Beautiful Keep Smyrna Beautiful Keep South Fulton Beautiful, Inc. Keep Sumter Beautiful Keep Thomas County Beautiful Keep Tift Beautiful Keep Toccoa Stephens Co. Beautiful Keep Troup Beautiful Keep Vienna Beautiful Keep Walton Beautiful Keep Warner Robins Beautiful Millen Better Hometown Stonewall Tell Elementary School Town of Tyrone Public Works White County Chamber of Commerce HAWAII Keep the Hawaiian Islands Beautiful Adopt-a-Beach Hawaii Community Work Day Program Keep Hawaii Beautiful Keep Kauai Beautiful Keep Honolulu Beautiful Nani ‘O Waianae

ILLINOIS Keep Illinois Beautiful Keep Carbondale Beautiful Keep Centralia Beautiful Keep Chicago Beautiful Keep Moline Beautiful Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful Keep Oak Park Beautiful Keep Peoria Beautiful Keep Rock Island Beautiful Keep Salem Beautiful Keep Vermilion County Beautiful INDIANA City of Fort Wayne Keep Evansville Beautiful Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Keep Stockwell Beautiful, Inc. La Porte County Solid Waste District IOWA Keep Iowa Beautiful Keep Columbus Beautiful Keep Council Bluffs Beautiful Keep Scott County Beautiful KANSAS Keep America Beautiful Topeka/Shawnee County Keep Dodge City Beautiful Operation Brightside Inc. KENTUCKY Kentucky Clean Community Program Adair County Allen County Anderson County Ballard County Barren County Bath County Bell County Boone County Bourbon County Boyd County Boyle County Bracken County Breathitt County Breckinridge County Brightside Bullitt County Butler County Caldwell County Calloway County Campbell County Carlisle County Carroll County Carter County Casey County Christian County Clark County Clay County Clean Kentucky

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Clinton County Crittenden County Cumberland County Daviess County Edmonson County Elliott County Estill County Fayette County Fleming County Floyd County Franklin County Fulton County Gallatin County Garrard County Grant County Graves County Grayson County Green County Greenup County Hancock County Hardin County Harlan County Harrison County Hart County Henderson County Henry County Hickman County Hopkins County Jackson County Jefferson County Jessamine County Johnson County Keep Covington Beautiful Keep Lexington-Fayette County Beautiful Kenton County Knott County Knox County Larue County Laurel County Lawrence County Lee County Leslie County Letcher County Lewis County Lincoln County Livingston County Logan County Lyon County Madison County Magoffin County Marion County Marshall County Martin County Mason County McCracken County McCreary County McLean County Meade County Menifee County Mercer County Metcalfe County Monroe County

Montgomery County Morgan County Muhlenberg County Nelson County Nicholas County Ohio County Oldham County Owen County Owsley County Pendleton County Perry County Pike County Powell County Pulaski County Robertson County Rockcastle County Rowan County Russell County Scott County Shelby County Simpson County Spencer County Taylor County Todd County Trigg County Trimble County Union County Warren County Washington County Wayne County Webster County Whitley County Wolfe County Woodford County LOUISIANA Keep Louisiana Beautiful City of Lake Charles Team Green of Southwest Louisiana G.M.U.E.S. Club R.E.D. (Recycle Every Day) Keep Abbeville Beautiful Keep Assumption Beautiful Keep Baton Rouge Beautiful Keep Cenla Beautiful Keep Covington Beautiful Keep DeRidder Beautiful Keep East Feliciana Beautiful Keep Hammond Beautiful Keep Iberville Beautiful Keep Jefferson Parish beautiful Keep Lincoln Parish Beautiful Keep Mandeville Beautiful Keep Monroe Beautiful Keep Morehouse Beautiful Keep Natchitoches Beautiful Keep Ouachita Parish Beautiful Keep Red River Parish Beautiful Keep Slidell Beautiful Keep St. James Beautiful Keep St. Mary Beautiful Keep St. John Beautiful Keep Washington Parish Beautiful

Keep West Baton Rouge Beautiful Keep West Monroe Beautiful Shreveport Green St. Margaret Catholic School MAINE Long Island GAC Group MARYLAND Cecil County Solid Waste Management Keep Prince Georgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s County Beautiful ShoreCorps Pals AmeriCorps Group/ Salisbury University The Community College of Baltimore County MASSACHUSETTS Keep Mansfield Beautiful Keep Springfield Beautiul LBIA Long Beach Improvement Association MICHIGAN Keep Michigan Beautiful Keep Detroit Beautiful Keep Genesee County Beautiful Keep It Moving, Inc. Keep Liberty Beautiful Kent Intermediate School District Howard Christensen Nature Center Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore MISSISSIPPI Keep Mississippi Beautiful Keep Bay Saint Louis Beautiful Keep Cleveland Beautiful Keep Clinton Beautiful Keep Columbia & Marion County Beautiful Keep Columbus/Lowndes Beautiful Keep Copiah County Beautiful Keep Corinth-Alcorn Beautiful Keep Hattiesburg Beautiful Keep Horn Lake Beautiful Keep Indianola Beautiful Keep Jackson Beautiful, Inc. Keep Laurel/Jones County Beautiful Keep Leake County Beautiful Keep Lincoln County Beautiful Keep Madison Beautiful Keep Morton Beautiful Keep Natchez Adams County Beautiful Keep New Albany/Union County Beautiful Keep Oxford Lafayette County Beautiful Keep Pascagoula Beautiful Keep Pearl Beautiful Keep Pike County Beautiful Keep Simpson County Beautiful Inc. Keep The Rez Beautiful Keep Tupelo Beautiful Keep Waveland Beautiful

MISSOURI Keep Cape Girardeau Beautiful Keep Kansas City Beautiful MONTANA Bright n’ Beautiful Keep Miles City Beautiful NEBRASKA Keep Nebraska Beautiful Adams Albion Alexandria Aurora Beaver Crossing Bellevue Belvidere Bennington Broadwater Bushnell Clarks Cody Cortland Crete David City Decatur Deshler DeWitt Doniphan Dorchester Douglas-Palmyra Ball Teams Fort Calhoun Franklin Hastings Hay Springs Homestead National Monument of America Howells Julian Keep Alliance Beautiful Keep Beatrice Beautiful, Inc. Keep Chadron Beautiful Keep Columbus Beautiful Keep Fremont Beautiful Keep Keith County Beautiful Keep Kimball Beautiful Keep Lexington Beautiful Keep Lincoln & Lancaster County Beautiful Keep Loup Basin Beautiful Keep Norfolk Beautiful Keep North Platte & Lincoln County Beautiful Keep Northeast Nebraska Beautiful Keep Omaha Beautiful Keep Schuyler Beautiful Keep Scottsbluff-Gering Beautiful Keep Sidney Beautiful Leigh Lodgepole Milford Kiwanis Naponee Nebraska City Peru Petersburg

Pilger Ravenna South Sioux City Middle School Southern Gage Community Pride Group Union Wauneta NEVADA City of Las Vegas Ward 1 Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful National Park Service Lake Mead National Recreation Area NEW HAMPSHIRE Lancaster School Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site NEW JERSEY Beta Alpha Phi, Phi Theta Kappa, Hudson County Community College Woman’s Club of Arlington, EMD and The Junior Woman’s Club of Arlington NEW MEXICO New Mexico Clean & Beautiful Artesia Clean and Beautiful Farmington Clean & Beautiful Hobbs Beautiful Keep Alamogordo Beautiful Keep Albuquerque Beautiful Keep Carlsbad Beautiful Keep Clovis Beautiful Keep Dona Ana County Beautiful Keep Las Cruces Beautiful Keep Las Vegas Beautiful Keep Luna County Beautiful Keep Rio Rancho Beautiful Keep Roswell Beautiful Keep Ruidoso Downs Beautiful Keep Santa Fe Beautiful Keep Tularosa Beautiful Keep Valencia County Beautiful Village of Ruidoso NEW YORK Glen Cove Beautification Commission and Litter Prevention Program Keep Brookhaven Beautiful Keep Islip Beautiful Keep New York City Beautiful Keep Rockland Beautiful Keep Western New York Beautiful Niagara Falls Fire Dept. Rome Clean and Green NORTH CAROLINA Keep NC Beautiful Asheville GreenWorks Clear Channel High Point Keep America Beautiful Keep America Beautiful of Nash/ Edgecombe Co.

Keep Brunswick County Beautiful Keep Catawba County Beautiful Keep Charlotte Beautiful Keep Eden Beautiful Keep Franklin County Beautiful Keep Gastonia Beautiful Keep Greenville Beautiful / City of Greenville Keep McDowell Beautiful, Inc. Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful Keep Moore County Beautiful, Inc. Keep New Hanover County Beautiful Keep Onslow Beautiful Keep Shelby Beautiful Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful Lincoln Harris CSG McDonald’s USA, LLC NC Travel & Tourism Coalition NC DENR North Carolina Beverage Association Otto Environmental Services North America PepsiCo Progress Energy Recreation & Parks Department Sonoco Recycling The Garden Club of NC Waste Management OHIO Keep Ohio Beautiful City of Barberton Beautification City of Cuyahoga Falls, Litter Prevention & Recycling City of Mansfield Engineering Department Defiance County Environmental Services/KAB Downtown Akron Partnership Geauga-Trumbull Solid Waste Management Hancock County SWMD Environmental Services Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Keep Akron Beautiful Keep Allen County Beautiful Keep Cincinnati Beautiful Keep Clark County Beautiful Keep Columbus Beautiful Keep Delaware County Beautiful Keep Grove City Beautiful Keep Hardin County Beautiful Keep Jefferson-Belmont Beautiful Keep Lake Milton Clean and Beautiful Keep Mentor Beautiful Keep Montgomery County Beautiful Keep Perrysburg Beautiful Keep Southeast Ohio Beautiful Keep the Mahoning Valley Beautiful, Inc. Keep Toledo/Lucas County Beautiful, Inc. Keep Wickliffe Beautiful Lawrence-Scioto County SWMD Lorain County Beautiful Ohio Department of Transportation Richland County Regional Solid Waste Management Authority Youngstown Litter Control and Recycling

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

OKLAHOMA Keep Oklahoma Beautiful A Finer Fairfax Ada Main Street Adair County OHCE Air Force Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town Alva 4-H Anadarko Chamber of Commerce Antlers Garden Club Ardmore Beautification Council Ardmore CN Housing Drug Elimination Program Ardmore Village Atoka Main Street Believers In Boswell Community Coalition, Inc Billings Community Improvement Committee Black Mesa Bed and Breakfast Blackwell Area Chamber of Commerce Braman American Legion Post 259 Bryan County Commissioner, District 1 Bryan County District 3 Byars Garden Club Calumet Chamber of Commerce Cambridge Homeowners Association of Norman Cargill Salt Checotah Chamber of Commerce Chelsea Chamber of Commerce Cherokee Main Street Chickasaw Nation Drug Elimination Program Chickasha Chamber of Commerce Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Chouteau Community Coalition Citizens for a Litter Free Choctaw County City of Ada City of Bristow City of Catoosa City of Coalgate City of Coweta City of Crescent City of Dewey City of Durant City of Edmond City of El Reno City of Frederick and Farm Bureau Women City of Geronimo City of Grandfield City of Grove City of Guthrie City of Guymon City of Hooker City of Indiahoma City of Lawton / LETA City of Lehigh City of Madill Beautification Committee City of Maud City of Miami Solid Waste City of Midwest City City of Norman City of Nowata Beautification Committee City of OKC Parks & Recreation City of Okemah

City of Pawnee City of Perkins City of Ponca City City of Pond Creek City of Shawnee City of Stroud City of Sulphur City of Taft City of Thomas/Thomas Area Chamber of Commerce City of Tishomingo City of Waurika City of Wilburton Clearlake OHCE/Clearlake 4H Cleveland Chamber of Commerce Cleveland County Commissioners Copan Community Action Team CORE Crowder Lake Park / Parks & Recreation Management Club Delaware Nation Economic Development Authority Delaware Nation Environmental Programs Democratic Women’s Group District One Wagoner County District Three Wagoner County District Two Wagoner County Downtown Muskogee, Inc Eldorado PAC Fairview 4-H Club Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Family, Career, Community Leaders of America Family Support Center of Oaks Fletcher Schools Foreman Prairie House Foundation Fort Sill Apache Tribe Environmental Program Foss Lake Association Friends of Lake Overholser/ Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge Friends of Martin Park Nature Center, Inc Friends of Roman Nose State Park Gettin’ Home, LLC Greater Tenkiller Area Association Hartshorne Chamber of Commerce Harvey & Irene Randall Family Healdton City Hall Hennessey Beautification Committee Heritage Hall Hugo Area Chamber Hunter Community Center In Him Ministries Jerusalem Community Heritage Center & Park Keep Broken Arrow Beautiful Keep Enid Beautiful Keep Nowata Beautiful Lake Murray State Park Latin American Community Club Laverne Main Street Association Lions Club of Pocasset Luther Economic Development Association Main Street Guymon

Main Street Paul’s Valley Main Street Prague Marshall County Marshall County Chamber of Commerce McClain County District #3 Memorial Hospital Metro Career Academy Minco Chamber of Commerce Muskogee Civitan Club Newkirk Main Street Association Northwest Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce Nowata Area Chamber of Commerce Nowata Beautification OHCE Busy Bees/Town of Bennington OKC Beautiful Okfuskee County District 2 Oklahoma Master Naturalists Oklahoma Route 66 Association Okmulgee Chamber of Commerce & Main Street Okmulgee/Dripping Springs State Parks OSU-OKC GoGreen Otoe-Missouria Tribe Our Earth Outreach Home Services Owasso Strong Neighborhood Initiative Owasso CARES Piedmont Parks & Recreation Pocola Lions Club Ponca City Leadership Class of 2012 Poteau Chamber of Commerce Pride In McAlester Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma Environmental Office Rebud Canyon HOA Rebuilding Together OKC, Inc Red Oak 4-H Club Robbers Cave State Park Rogers County District 1 Salina Area Chamber of Commerce Sapulpa Chamber of Commerce Sapulpa Main Street Sayre Main Street, Inc Seminole Chamber of Commerce Shidler Area Chamber of Commerce South Western Oklahoma Development Authority Spencer Chamber of Commerce Stigler News-Sentinel Stigler-Haskell County Chamber of Commerce Stringtown Community Team Up to Clean Up Tenkiller State Park The Metropolitan Environmental Trust The Plaza District Association Town of Allen Town of Arnett/Arnett Chamber of Commerce Town of Beaver Town of Bethel Town of Bethel Acres Town of Boley

Town of Cameron Town of Carnegie Town of Cashion Town of Cheyenne Town of Dewar Town of Eakly Town of Earlsboro Town of Elmore City Town of Ft. Coffee Town of Goltry Town of Hammon Town of Helena Town of Hinton Town of Howe Town of Hulbert Town of Langston City Town of Lenapah Town of Locust Grove Town of Maysville and The Red Hatters Town of Mounds Town of Mountain Park Town of Nash Town of Ralston Town of Rentiesville Town of Ringling Town of Slaughterville Town of Spavinaw Town of Sperry Town of Summit Town of Tyrone Town of Valley Brook Town of Velma Town of Wayne Township of Cedar Valley Troop 222, Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma Tulsa’s Young Professionals United Electronic Recycling LLC United Methodist Boy’s Ranch Vinita Area Chamber of Commerce Vision 2025 Community Clean Up Organization Wagoner County 4H Horse Club Walmart Stores Walters Chamber of Commerce Warner Chamber of Commerce Washita County 4-H Waterloo Road Church of Christ Watson Community Fire Department We Love Hollis Westbrook Homeowners Wewoka Chamber of Commerce Wilburton Main Street, Inc Wister Pride Woodward Main Street Wright City Chamber of Commerce Wyandotte Nation Wynnewood Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce Yale Chamber of Commerce Youth Volunteer Corps of Muskogee Yukon Friends of the Park

PENNSYVLANIA Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful 42nd Annual Mt. Airy Day 5th Annual Beer Fest at the Ball Park ABC Kidz Abington Area Parks Abington Twp Environmental Advisory Council Adams County Conservation District & Environmental Services Depts Adams Memorial Library Agostine Family Allegheny CleanWays Allegheny Valley Trails Association Allison Christian Church Allison Park Sportsmen´s Club Alvernia University Amanda´s Clean Up Crew Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area Anthracite Trail Riders Aquetong Watershed Association Armstrong Rails to Trails Association Asbury Woods Nature Center Browns Farm Aultman Watershed Association for Restoring the Environment Baker Creek Watershed Association Bangor Area Middle School Barrett Elementary Center Bear Creek Watershed Association Beautification Committee of the Friends of Midtown Benner Community 4-H Club Bilger´s Rocks Association Black Lick Community Clean-up Black Moshannon State Park Blacklick Valley Community 4-H Club Blairsville Community Developement Authority Block Captain’s Rally Bob’s Creek Stream Guardians Borough of Bradfordwoods Borough of Carnegie Borough of Norwood Shade Tree/EAC Borough of Pennsbury Village Borough of Watsontown Borough of Wilkinsburg Borough of Wyomissing - Earth Day Event Boy Scout Troop 99 Boy Scouts of America Troop 89 Brady’s Bend Township Brandywine Valley Association Brewerytown Spring Festival Bridgeville Borough - Broom Up Bridgeville Day Brownie troop 30860-Kingston Brownie Troop 51034 Brownsville Area Revitalization Corporation Butler Area School District Trout Fishing Club Butler Area School District Trout in the Classroom Butler Township Caledonia Cleanup Caln Township Park and Recreation Cambria Elementary 4th Grade Class

Carbondale Area 6th Grade Class Case Avenue Elementary School Catawissa Borough Center Township of Butler County Central York EcoLiving Club Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority Century Club of Wilkins Township Charlestown Township Chester County Intermediate Unit Chestnut Ridge/Laurel Mountain Horse and Pony Clubs Christian Recovery Aftercare Ministry Churchville Nature Center City of Butler Shade Tree Commission City of Jeannette City of St. Mary’s City Of Washington, PA Clean Up Lehigh Township Cleaner and Greener Endless Mountains, PA ClearWater Conservancy Clinton County CleanScapes Close the Loop Coca-Cola, Erie Conestoga-Rovers & Associates Congregatio Emanu-el Israel Conservation Volunteers Corsica Boy Scout Troop 61 Countryside Conservancy Courtdal Borough Covenant Life Fellowship Cranberry Adventure Club Cross Creek County Park Cub Scouts Pack 13, Den 3 Cub Scout Pack 32 Cub Scout Pack 99 Cub Scout Pack 213 Cub Scout Pack 300 Cub Scout Pack 341 Cub Scout Pack 4022 & Girl Scout Troop 40856 Daisy Troop #40621 Dallastown Football Booster Association DCW Business Organization Debbie Sterner-Houseman Memorial Cleanup Design Committee, Uniontown Downtown Business District Authority Discover Downtown Johnstown Partnership District 8 Litter Mates District Township, Berks County Downtown Neighborhood Connections Downtown West Newton, Inc Dr. Erhard Duncannon Cloverleaf 4-H Earth Action HACE Team East Bayfront Neighborhood Watch East Carrol Township Supervisors East End Concerned Citizens East Goshen Township East Nantmeal Township Cleanup Day East Pikeland Township Park & Recreation Easton Main Street Initiative Elk County Recycling Office

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Elk Township Elysburg Lodge #349 Ephrata Mennonite School Factoryville Shade Tree Commission Fairmount Parks-Love Your Park Fairview Middle School Falls Road Cleanup Crew First Church of God Youth Group Fishing Creek Clean Up Fix-It Shop Auto Center Forks Clean up Fox Hollow Clean-up Crew Franklin County Franklin County Conservation District Franklin Township Residents for a Cleaner Township Freedom Township Freeland Recreation Board Freinds of Indian Hill Road and Bagdad Road Friendly Residents of Markleton Friends of Hague Lane Friends of Mingo Creek Friends of North Park Friends of Opossum Lake Conservancy Friends of Pennypack Park Friends of Starrucca Creek Friends of Swatara State Park Friends of Tamanend Park Friends of the Allentown Parks Friends of the Dam Forest Friends of the Delaware Canal Friends of Washington Avenue Green Gallatin Avenue Concerned Citizens Association Georgetown Crossing Triple Crown Corporation Girl Scout Troop 597 Girl Scout Troop 1512 Girl Scout Brownie Troop 46218 Girl Scouts in the Heart of PA Glenolden School Garden Club Grace Point Church Gray Station & Shady Hollow Roads Residents Greater Honesdale Partnership Green Lane Borough Green Streets (Aspinwall Neighborhood Watch) Greener Behrend Greenfield Township 2012 Cleanup Greensboro Borough Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Harrisburg Area Hamiltonban Township Happy Hollow Recreation Center Harborcreek Cleanup Event Harmar Township Harrisburg SCUBA Center Harveys Lake Environmental Advisory Council HBC Heidelberg Borough Heming Family Hemlock Grove UMYF Hereford Township Recreation and Park Committee

Highland Park Community Hills Creek Park Volunteers Hudak Family Indiana County Department of Transportation Indiana Road Runners Club IU 13 Lebanon County School To Work J. E. Fritz Elementary School Jay Township Jefferson DeFrees Family Center Jenni Sunshine Foundation Judi and MaryAnn For Paradise K & W Engineers Karma Diva Green Cleaning Keep Allentown Beautiful Keep Bedford County Beautiful Keep Bucks County Beautiful Keep Cambria County Beautiful Keep Collier Beautiful Keep Huntingdon County Beautiful Keep Lancaster County Beautiful Keep Perry County Beautiful Keep Philadelphia Beautiful Keep Royal Gardens Beautiful Keep Washington County Beautiful Keep York Beautiful Keep York County Beautiful Kennett Township Keystone Animal Hospital Keystone Chiropractic Neurology Kinetics Festival Kiskiminetas Watershed Association Kiwanis Club of Greater Reading, Berks County Kutztown Middle School Lackawanna Heritage Valley Lackawanna River Corridor Association Lafarge NA Lafayette Area Concerned Citizens LAMP, Rapha Ministries, and North Way Christian Community Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center Langhorne Borough Recreation Board and EAC Langhorne Open Space/Catawissa Laura DiGiorgio Laurel Hill State Park Complex Lausanne Township Clean up Leetsdale Borough Lehighton Downtown Initiative Committee Liberty Community 4-H Club Ligonier Township Supervisors Lititz Run Watershed Alliance Lower Dauphin Elementary Helping Hands Lower Milford Township Lower Spruce Cabin Cleanup Crew “Private Group” Loyalhanna Lake Annual Shoreline Cleanup Lynn Twp. Lehigh Co. EAC Macungie Clean Up Crew Mahanoy Area School District Manheim Downtown Development Group Manheim Township Great PA Cleanup Manheim Township SADD Marcel Lake Estate Community Cleanup

Marianna Borough & West Beth Township Marsh Creek State Park Marshall Township Parks and Recreation Martinsburg Borough Masthope POC Mauch Chunk Lake Park McKean Elementary PTA Mifflinburg Borough Mifflinburg Heritage and Revitalization Association Milford Township, Bucks County Miller Township Litter Control Team Millvale Borough Development Corporation Mingo Creek County Park Modena Clean-up Crew Morningside Area Community Council Mountainview Residents Association Mrs. Rosler´s 8th Grade Class Cleanup Muncy Borough Cleanup Days Municipality of Monroeville Nanticoke City Cleanup Crew Natrona Comes Together Association Naval Support Activity Philadelphia Neighbors of the Mayor-Connors Park NEPA Grapes New Kensington Great American Cleanup Newberry Community Partnership Newlin Grist Mill Newport Township Community Organization Nico Monroig No Roadside Junk in Tunk Nockamixon Township Nolan’s Swisshelm Park Litter Clean-up Crew Nolde Forest Env. Ed. Center North Annville Youth League North by Northwest Neighborhood Initiative Olde Getty Place Our Lady of Peace School Caring Kids Our Town Cooperative Main Street Program Oxford Mainstreet, Inc. PA CleanWays of Blair County PA CleanWays of Cumberland County PA CleanWays of Fayette County PA CleanWays of McKean County PACleanWays of Mifflin County Palmer Twp. Env. Steering Comm./EAC Panhandle Trail Parrish Family Paupack Township Pen Argyl High School Student Government Association Penbrook Leo Club Penbrook Revitalization Inc. Penbrook VIP PennDOT Adopt-A-Highway Program Pennsylvania Environmental Council Pennsylvania National Guard / Trout Unlimited Doc Fritchey Chapter Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy Peters Township Environmental Quality Board Philadelphia 12th, 16th, 18th, & 19th Police Districts

Philadelphia 1st, 4th, & 17th Police Districts Philadelphia 24th & 25th Police Districts Philadelphia 2nd, 7th, 8th, & 15th Police Districts Philadelphia 5th, 14th, 35th, & 39th Police Districts Philadelphia 6th, 9th, 22nd, & 26th Police Districts Philadelphia Naval Business Center Philadelphia on Parade Philly Spring Cleanup Phoenix Packaging, Inc Phoenixville Town Watch Picture Rocks Borough PITT OHIO Port Trevorton Girl Scout Troop 61404 Portage Area School District/ Trout Run Watershed Assn Presque Isle Volunteers Pride In Chestnuthill Prince Gallitzin State Park Progressive Chiropractic, Inc. Project Greensweep Promised Land State Park Volunteers R. B. Winter Chapter of Trout Unlimited Rail-Trail Council of NEPA Redbank Renaissance, Inc. Redbank Valley Trails Association Richland Township’s Annual Road Clean Up Day Rivendell Neighbors Ronco Volunteer Fire Company ROVER Community Transportation Saint Joe’s Road Cleanup Saint Paul Lutheran Chruch Trinity Road Saltington Parks & Recreation Commission Schuylkill Canal Association Schuylkill Keep It Pretty Schwenksville Borough Scott Township Sewickley Creek Watershed Association Shadfest Sharon Beautification Commission Shickshinny Youth Group Shiremanstown Borough Shuff Family Silver Lake Nature Center Smethport Area High Student Council Snyder County Solid Waste Management Authority Somerset Parks & Recreation South Ebensburg 4H Community Club South Fayette Township South Side Elementary Third Graders Speicher family Spring Clean Berks - State Senator Judy Schwank St. Bernard Regional Catholic School Stanbridge Street Cleanup Standing Stone Townships Steelton Community Clean up Stillwater Poetry Festival Stony Creek Anglers

Susquehanna Greenway Partnership Susquehanna River Cleanup Project Susquehanna Warrior Trail Council and National Civilian Community Corps Swatara Watershed Association Take Pride in Titusville Taylor Township Ten Mile Creek County Park The Clearview PTA The Mechanicsville Place Community The Mercury The Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort The Stockwells The Times-Tribune Employees´ Relations Committee Tinicum Township Clean-up Day Tioga County Concerned Citizens Committee Tioga County Livestock 4-H Club Tobyhanna Elementary Center ESL Class Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership Tri County Trout Club Tri-County CleanWays Trinity Lutheran Church Trinity Lutheran Church Environmental Health Committee Trout Unlimited/Bersch Hokendauqua Catasauqua Watershed Association Troy’s River Road Crew Tullytown Borough PA Clean-Up Union Township Environmental Advisory Council Uniontown Lions Club and Eager Eagles Leo Club United By Blue United Church of Nelson United Neighborhood Centers of NEPA Elm Street Program Upper Darby Neighborhood Watch Upper Pottsgrove Township Roadway Cleanup Brigade Upper Saucon Township US Army Corps of Engineers Valley Township Village at Tripps Park W.B. Saul High School Walter Miller School Wampum Chapter North Country Trail Association Warminster Township Parks and Recreation Washington Township Residents Waters Edge United Methodist Church Watershed Alliance of York, Inc. Waymart Horizons 4-H Club Weinzen West Nottingham Township West Brandywine Police West End Park & Open Space Commission West Fellowfield Christian School West Lampeter Township West Reading Elm Street Program West Rockhill Township

West Ward Neighborhood Partnership Westmoreland Christian Academy Westmoreland Cleanways Whatsa Matta Worth Township Wildlands Conservancy Wildwood Park and Olewine Nature Center Wilkes-Barre Riverfront Parks Committee Williamson Sportsmen’s Club Williamsport-Lycoming Young Professionals Winfield Township Wingate Elementary First Grade Students Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve and Mt. View Rotary WINS Coalition Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association Woodrow Wilson Elementary School York Township Recreation York Traditions Bank Young Friends of the Brandywine Conservancy Young Scholars of Western PA Charter School Youngwood Borough Youth Forestry Camp #2 Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church RHODE ISLAND City of Newport - Clean City Program Keep Blackstone Valley Beautiful Naval Station Newport SOUTH CAROLINA Keep South Carolina Beautiful Ambler Elementary School Brockman Elementary Cherryvale Elementary City of Greenville Solid Waste Division City of Pickens City of Rock Hill Neighborhood Inspections City of Tega Cay City of West Columbia Clarendon County Parks & Recreation Clinton High School Creative Venture, Inc. Eastside Family YMCA Fountain Inn PD Glen Laurel Community HOA Greenville County Solid Waste Division Indian Land Action Council KAB of Anderson County Keep Beaufort County Beautiful Keep Charleston Beautiful Keep Colleton Beautiful Keep Darlington County Beautiful Keep Dorchester County Beautiful Keep Edisto Beautiful Keep Florence Beautiful Keep Georgetown Beautiful Keep Greenville County Beautiful Keep Greenwood County Beautiful Keep Hampton County Beautiful Keep Horry County Beautiful Keep North Charleston Beautiful Keep Oconee Beautiful Association

Keep Orangeburg County Beautiful Keep the Midlands Beautiful Keep Williamsburg Beautiful Keep York County Beautiful La Puerta de Esperanza Marion County Millbrook Elementary Murrells Inlet 2020 Myrtle Beach Travel Park Neighborhood Revitalization Foundation Newberry Academy North Main Rotary Park Oakdale Community Pickens County Administration Pickens Middle School Possum Corner Plantation Richland County Rec Commission Rock Hill Clean and Green Rowesville Police Dept. S. Converse Neighborhood Association Sandhills Elementary SC DNR, Region 1, Unit A (Oconee/Pickens) Slater Hall Citizens’ Committee Spartanburg Co. Environmental Enforcement St. Matthews K-8 Summerhill Community Cleanup Sumter County Keep America Beautiful The Barclay School Town of Carlisle Town of Honea Path Town of Jefferson Town of Kiawah Island Town of Lamar Town of Mt. Pleasant Town of Mt. Pleasant - Clean City Sweeps Town of Mt. Pleasant Shem Creek Town of Port Royal Town of Rowesville USCGA (Upstate Geocachers) Waccamaw Riverkeepers Wando Lacrosse Ware Shoals Primary Westcliffe Elementary Youth Sports Bureau SOUTH DAKOTA Keep Hot Springs Beautiful Keep Yankton Beautiful TENNESSEE Keep Tennessee Beautiful Bedford County Extension Program Benton County Bi-County Solid Waste Management System Bledsoe County Executive’s Office Campbell County Cannon County Cheatham County Government Clay County Solid Waste Cleveland/Bradley KAB System, Inc. Clifton Chamber of Commerce County Executive’s Office

Crockett County Chamber of Commerce Cumberland County Recycling Decatur County DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce Dept Economic and Community Dev. Dickson County Dyer County Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce Fayette County Fentress County Solid Waste Freed-Hardeman University Gibson County Solid Waste Giles County Highway Dept. Grainger County Grundy County Mayor’s Office Hancock County Sheriff’s Department Hardeman County Executive’s Office Hardin County Solid Waste Haywood County SW & Landfill Henderson County Reinactment Association Hendersonville Beautiful Henry County Highway Department Hickman County Chamber of Commerce Houston County Mayor Humphreys Co. Recycling & LGP Interlocal Solid Waste Authority Jackson County Executive Office & LGP Jefferson County Executive’s Office Johnson County Litter Control Keep Anderson County Beautiful Keep Blount Beautiful Keep Bristol Beautiful Keep Cocke County Beautiful Keep Coffee County Beautiful Keep Fayetteville/Lincoln County Beautiful, Inc. Keep Greene Beautiful Keep Jackson Beautiful Keep Johnson City Beautiful Keep Kingsport Beautiful Keep Knoxville Beautiful Keep Maury County Beautiful, Inc. Keep McMinn Beautiful Keep Roane Litter Free Keep Sevier Beautiful Keep Tipton County Beautiful Keep Union County Beautiful Keep Williamson Beautiful Lake County Government Lauderdale County Lawrence County Government Lebonon City Beautification Committee Lewis County Three Star Program Loudon County Macon County Sheriff’s Dept Marion County Mayor’s Office Marshall County Mayor’s Office McNairy County Chamber of Commerce Memphis City Beautiful Commission Metro Beautification & Environmental Commission Monroe County Beautiful Moore County Excutive’s Office

Morgan County Litter Prevention Program Morristown/Hamblen KABS Murfreesboro Park and Recreation & Friends of the Greenway Overton County Litter Grant Program Perdue Farms, Inc. Perry County Chamber of Commerce Pickett County Executive Office Polk County Litter Grant Program Rhea County Beautification Commission Robertson County/Springfield Chamber of Commerce Rogersville/Hawkins County Chamber of Commerce Scenic Cities Beautiful Commission Scott County Solid Waste Sequatchie County Government Shelby County Public Works Smith County Mayor Office Stewart County 4-H Club Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation TN Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc. Trousdale County Unicoi County Chamber of Commerce Union City Beautiful Commission Van Buren County Warren County Government Weakley County LGP White County Litter Control TEXAS Keep Texas Beautiful Abbott 4-H Angelina College Rotaract Club Beauti-Fulshear City of Baytown Health Dept./ Keep Baytown Beautiful City of Beaumont City of Corinth City of Eagle Lake City of Frisco City of Keller City of La Porte City of Lorenzo City of McKinney Office of Environmental Stewardship City of Mercedes City of Plano City of Post Oak Bend City of Richardson City of Sachse City of Stafford Clean City Committee Discover Green Young Environmental Leaders, Inc. Ector County Airport Association Keep Abilene Beautiful Keep Allen Beautiful Keep Alpine Beautiful Keep Angleton Beautiful Keep Arlington Beautiful Keep Athens Beautiful

Keep Austin Beautiful Keep Beaumont Beautiful Keep Blanco Beautiful, Inc Keep Boerne Beautiful Keep Brazos Beautiful Keep Brownsboro Beautiful Keep Brownsville Beautiful Keep Brownwood Beautiful Keep Burleson Beautiful Keep Carrollton Beautiful Keep Chandler Beautiful Keep Cleveland Beautiful Keep Colleyville Beautiful Keep Collinsville Beautiful Keep Coppell Beautiful Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful Keep Corpus Christi Beautiful Keep Denton Beautiful, Inc. Keep Fort Worth Beautiful Keep Garland Beautiful Keep Glenn Heights Beautiful Keep Graham Beautiful Keep Grapevine Beautiful Keep Haltom City Beautiful Keep Henderson Beautiful Keep Hickory Creek Beautiful Keep Houston Beautiful Keep Hutto Beautiful Keep Irving Beautiful Keep Junction Beautiful Keep Katy Beautiful Keep Kennedale Beautiful Keep Killeen Beautiful Keep Kingsville Beautiful Keep Lake Dallas Beautiful Keep Lake Jackson Beautiful Keep Laredo Beautiful Keep Lewisville Beautiful Keep Little Elm Beautiful Keep Longview Beautiful Keep Lytle Beautiful Keep McAllen Beautiful Keep Mesquite Beautiful Keep Midland Beautiful Keep Moody Beautiful Keep Muenster Beautiful Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful Keep North Richland Hills Beautiful Keep Paris Beautiful Keep Pearland Beautiful Keep Port Aransas Beautiful Keep Richland Hills Beautiful Keep Richwood Beautiful Keep Rowlett Beautiful Keep Seagoville Beautiful Keep Sonora Beautiful Keep Southlake Beautiful Keep SPI Beautiful Keep Sugar Land Beautiful Keep Tyler Beautiful Keep Utopia Beautiful Keep Vinton Beautiful Keep Wells Branch Beautiful

Keeping Pharr Beautiful Lazy River Neighbors Missouri City Green MOP Keep McCamey Beautiful Orange Savings Bank, ssb Port Arthur Beautification Commission River, Lakes, Bays ‘N Bayous Trash Bash (Trash Bash) Rotary Club of Henderson Teamwork Hardin County Texarkana College Earth Club Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Program The Woodlands Township U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Unity Committee & Keep Cleveland Beautiful Vernon Main Street Board Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce Woodway Beautiful Commission UTAH Take Pride in Utah

Thank You

Keep America Beautiful would like to extend its thanks to all of the executive directors, staff and volunteers of the KAB affiliates and Great American Cleanup participating organizations as well as National Sponsors and Promotional, Educational and Retail Partners, for their unique contributions to the Great American Cleanup and for contributing to this annual report. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Nashville, TN

VERMONT Vermont State Parks VIRGINIA Keep Virginia Beautiful City of Chesapeake Frederick County Recycling Glasgow Middle School Hampton Clean City Commission James City County Keep Hopewell Beautiful Keep Norfolk Beautiful Keep Southwest Virginia Beautiful Keep Suffolk Beautiful Keep Wise County Beautiful Newport News Public Works Recycling Richmond Clean City Commission Spotsylvania County WASHINGTON Naval Station Everett Recycling Navy Whidbey Recycle, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island

palm beach, fl

Cobb County, GA

WEST VIRGINIA Keep New Cumberland Beautiful WISCONSIN Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful University of Wisconsin- Stout WYOMING Keep Casper Beautiful CANADA Keep Hamilton Beautiful Take Pride Winnipeg! Inc. Nashville, TN

PUERTO RICO Conserva El Encanto de Mi Isla Preciosa

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

National Sponsors and Partners Make it Happen

Wrigley

LG Electronics USA

The Glad Products Company

As a 13-year sponsor, Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars, Inc., provided in-kind product donations to attendees of litter prevention education workshops in connection with the Great American Cleanup events.

LG Electronics USA helped bolster the Great American Cleanup’s electronics recycling results through LG’s nationwide e-cycling program, including innovative programs during March Madness® and the NCAA® Final Four® in New Orleans, in partnership with WM Recycle America.

From the dawn of Keep America Beautiful’s national cleanup events, The Glad Products Company has continued its support of KAB’s mission. For 27 years, Glad has supported cleanups by donating over 2.5 million GLAD® trash bags to organizations nationwide. Our volunteers could not clean up their communities without them.

Troy-Bilt® Lawn and Garden Equipment

PepsiCo’s Pepsi-Cola and Gatorade companies

Waste Management

Troy-Bilt® Lawn and Garden Equipment, for the 14th year, continued its in-kind support by donating equipment upon request to local organizations for their community improvement activities. The donated equipment will continue to be used in the selected communities long after the cleanups and green-ups have ended.

In its 14 year of sponsorship, Pepsi-Cola Company once again donated soft drinks to help quench the thirst of volunteers at hundreds of events nationwide. The company also played an invaluable role in rallying volunteers, producing and distributing event posters promoting the “Green Starts Here” campaign. Program posters for organizations nationwide were graciously shipped by the Pepsi-Cola Company as well.

Waste Management (WM) has supported the GAC for the past 10 years. More than 100 local KAB affiliates have benefited from WM volunteer efforts. WM also provides essential environmental services such as recycling and waste disposal that helps communities remain clean and beautiful across the nation. In 2012, WM supported community improvement projects for 15 KAB affiliates through the WM/GAC Think Green® Community Improvement Grants.

In addition to providing funding through their generous national sponsorship donations, the 2012 Great American Cleanup Category Exclusive National Sponsors leveraged their partnership with Keep America Beautiful through activation programs.

Nestlé® Pure Life® Purified Water

The Dow Chemical Company

Solo Cup Company

Nestlé® Pure Life® Purified Water was a National Sponsor of the GAC for the third year. The top 25 state and local affiliates that collected the most PET bottles for recycling were awarded $1,000 each for a Nestlé® Pure Life® PET Recycling Award. Nestlé Waters also provided over 2 million bottles of water to keep busy volunteers hydrated.

For the fifth consecutive year, The Dow Chemical Company marshaled its employees to participate in 59 service projects including “trash bashes,” hazardous material collections, river, beach and bayou cleanups, tree and flower planting, invasive plant removal and recycling programs nationwide. Dow also piloted the “Dow College Cleanup Program” to engage college students in mid-Michigan to improve their communities. Grants to local KAB affiliates and like-minded organizations further supported Dow’s commitment.

Returning as a fourth-year sponsor, Solo Cup Company provided grants to KAB affiliates for grassroots education about the proper disposal of foodservice packaging. In addition, Solo donated Bare™ by Solo® cups and plates–made with renewable and recycled materials–to affiliates across the country, providing an environmentally preferable alternative to traditional singleuse food service products. Hundreds of Solo volunteers also created and implemented community improvement events near a number of its facilities.

Keep America Beautiful would like to also thank Great American Cleanup Promotional, Educational and Retail Partners. Promotional Partners

Educational Partner

G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort

Get Involved Great American Cleanup events take place in communities across America. Get involved through your local participating organizations or Keep America Beautiful affiliates. If there isn’t something happening in your area, you can even hold your own event! Volunteering for the Great American Cleanup

Contact your local sanitation or public works department. They can advise you on the special trash bags or receptacles you may need, provide hauling services for bulk items or from illegal dump sites, and any other special requirements. And be sure to speak with your elected leaders about your plans—they can be great allies.

Organizing Your Own Event

The Great American Cleanup offers volunteer opportunities for concerned individuals, schools, community or church groups, or even local businesses to take control of their local environment, take action, and get involved. If you don’t have a local KAB affiliate or participating organization near you, here are a few steps to help you get started with your own activity or event.

Contact your local KAB affiliate or participating organization to find out dates, locations and details for local events. A full listing of organizations can be found at www.kab.org.

Create a Steering Committee

Organize a cleanup committee by seeking out a few people who share your passion for the cause. Set a meeting date and let the ideas flow. Decide which project your group wants to tackle, and define responsibilities.

Set a Date

Set dates for your activities. Saturday mornings are often best, with an alternate rain date scheduled for the following weekend. Make sure your event doesn’t conflict with other major happenings or events in the community, especially ones that involve volunteers.

Tell Us What You’re Doing

To register your event, email gac@kab.org and tell us your plans. Event registrants can access an online Program Kit with lots of useful resources and tips, marketing materials and more. You may be eligible for receiving other in-kind support as well.

Engage Local Government

Enlist the Local Business Community

Turn to local business owners and your local chamber of commerce to support your efforts. Ask them to donate supplies, tools or refreshments, and to help you promote the event to their employees, members or customers.

Outreach and Promotion

Reach out to potential allies like scout troops, environmental clubs, church groups and other community organizations, and enlist their help. Use Great American Cleanup promotional tools like posters, banners and press releases to promote your event. Contact local media and make them aware of your plans.

Prepare Your Volunteers

Make a checklist of the equipment you will need, permits and permissions required, and other important concerns. Make sure your volunteers know what equipment to bring, and encourage them to be prepared for the weather conditions by bringing sunscreen, hydration and the appropriate clothing for your project.

Don’t Forget to Say “Thank You”

Celebrate your achievements and say “thanks” to your volunteers and partners for a job well done. Consider hosting a picnic or “thank you” celebration after your activities are completed, and include local officials and others who helped you along the way.

About Keep America Beautiful

Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With a network of more than 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations including state recycling organizations, we work with millions of volunteers to take action in their communities through programs that deliver sustainable impact. Keep America Beautiful offers solutions that create clean, beautiful public places, reduce waste and increase recycling, generate positive impact on local economies and

How to Become a Great American Cleanup National Sponsor

Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup is the nation’s largest organized community improvement program, built on a foundation of community pride and individual responsibility. Great American Cleanup National Sponsors provide substantial support to the Great American Cleanup program in a variety of ways, from in-kind donations to employee volunteer participation. For more information about becoming a National Sponsor of Keep America Beautiful’s Great American

inspire generations of environmental stewards. Through

Cleanup, please contact:

our programs and public-private partnerships, we engage

Lynn Markley

individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community’s environment. Our intent is to build and sustain vibrant communities that are socially connected, environmentally healthy and economically sound. We offer solutions that: • Create clean, beautiful public places • Reduce waste and increase recycling • Generate positive impact on the local economy • Inspire generations of environmental stewards Our Mission

Engaging individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community’s environment. Our BELIEFS

We believe… • People and places are profoundly connected • Thriving communities are rooted in individual responsibility and action • Lasting change happens when people work together

Senior Vice President, Brand Development Keep America Beautiful, Inc. 1010 Washington Blvd. Stamford, CT 06901 Tel: 203.659.3072 Email: lmarkley@kab.org Supporting Keep America Beautiful

Keep America Beautiful is committed to educating and involving individuals in productive solutions that care for a community’s environment. Whether supported through an outright gift or a life-income gift, all Keep America Beautiful programs and services are made possible through the generosity and commitment of organizations and individuals. If you would like to make a gift by using your credit card, make a gift of securities, receive information about Keep America Beautiful’s Planned Giving Program, or become a corporate supporter, please contact Keep America Beautiful’s Development Office at 203.659.3018 or write to: Keep America Beautiful 1010 Washington Blvd. Stamford, CT 06901 Attn: Development Office Email: development@kab.org

Keep America Beautiful, Inc. 1010 Washington Boulevard Stamford, Connecticut 06901 www.kab.org

You can also find out more information about Keep America Beautiful and the services and programs it provides by visiting its Web site at www.kab.org.

Design: Taylor Design

KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL, INC. 1010 WASHINGTON BLVD, STAMFORD, CT 06901 Phone: (203) 659-3000 | Fax: (203) 659-3001 | Email: info@kab.org | Web site: www.kab.org