LITTLE ROCK (Aug. 1, 2017) – Each fall, Arkansans improve their communities by volunteering in the Great Arkansas Cleanup (GAC), the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission’s (KAB) annual litter pickup and community cleanup event. This year’s GAC will kickoff Saturday, Sept. 9, with cleanups already scheduled around the state, and will continue through October.
Communities and organizations in two-thirds of Arkansas’s counties hosted more than 140 local cleanup events last year. More than 7,000 volunteers picked up about 210,000 pounds of litter from roughly 1,735 miles of roadway and waterway and collected more than 900,000 pounds of bulky waste.
“That level of dedication to removing other people’s litter is inspirational, and we hope that this year we see some sort of cleanup event being hosted in every county in Arkansas,” said Liz Philpott, KAB volunteer program manager. “We know – and share – the pride Arkansans have in being an Arkansan and living in The Natural State. We know that all across this beautiful place, everyone wants Arkansas to be litter-free.”
Those who would like to organize an event in their community or volunteer for a local event can email [email protected], call toll-free 888-742-8701 or visit KeepArkansasBeautiful.com. Organizers may access free promotional tools, such as a cleanup instructional video and printable publicity materials, from KAB’s website. KAB will also provide cleanup materials and supplies, such as T-shirts, trash bags, gloves and safety vests, to local events (while supplies last) to those organizers who register their local cleanup with the KAB office.
About Keep Arkansas Beautiful
The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KAB), consisting of a professional staff and a nine-member advisory board appointed by the governor, is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. As a certified state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc., KAB inspires and educates individuals to reduce litter, recycle and keep Arkansas beautiful. KAB is funded through its 1 percent portion of the eighth-cent Conservation Tax and, by mobilizing volunteers, returns to the state a cost benefit of more than $6 in community service for each program dollar spent. For more information, visit KeepArkansasBeautiful.com or stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.