Great American Cleanup

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Every March through May, thousands of Arkansans improve the environmental quality of life in their communities by volunteering in the national Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup^TM in Arkansas.

Great American Cleanup

The Great American Cleanup is the nation’s largest community-improvement event. Activities focus on local beautification efforts, flower- and tree-plantings, park improvements, trail-building, Main Street rehabilitations, litter pickups, and other activities in advance of the tourism/vacation and festival season.

Arkansas has historically been one of the nation’s leaders in volunteerism during this three-month community-improvement campaign. Last year, Arkansas boasted 500 events across the state that involved more than 20,000 volunteers and 50,000 hours of donated time. Arkansas volunteers picked up about 600 tons of litter from 2,567 miles of roadway, trails and shoreline and 140 acres of parks and public areas.

In addition to picking up litter, volunteers closed 41 illegal dumping sites; restored 38 playgrounds; removed 12,654 tires, 56 junk cars and 138 batteries; recycled 20 tons of plastic, 256 tons of metal, 121 tons of newspapers and 170 tons of electronics; and collected 1,260 pounds of clothing for reuse. Volunteers planted 608 trees and more than 45,000 flowers and bulbs; painted and renovated 12 homes; and removed 10 graffiti sites.

Nationally, the Great American Cleanup involves an estimated 3 million people volunteering more than 6.7 million hours to clean, beautify and improve 17,000 communities during 30,000 events from coast to coast in all 50 states.

National Recognition for Cleanup Efforts

In fact, Arkansas' efforts during the Great American Cleanup have brought the state national attention.

In November 2008, students in the outdoor-education class at Rogers High School earned a $1,000 Sam’s Club® gift card and 250 fleece jackets (made from recycled plastic bottles) for their school during the Great American Cleanup’s Return the Warmth recycling contest. The school’s student-run recycling program collected more than 28,600 pounds of plastic to rank among the nation’s Top 50 Return the Warmth participants.

In 2006, the Benton County Solid Waste District and Keep Benton County Beautiful ranked among the Top 50 Return the Warmth participants, receiving a total of 3,100 fleece jackets (made from recycled plastic bottles). Benton County Solid Waste District partnered with Rogers High School to collect and recycle 2,000 pounds of plastic bottles in three months (enough plastic bottles to fill two 30-yard containers). Keep Benton County Beautiful partnered with Springhill Middle School in Bentonville to recycle 420 pounds of plastic bottles.

In 2005, Morrilton was named one of nine national finalists in the Wrigley’s “greenup” environmental project for its efforts to landscape the Morrilton High School campus.

Organize a Great American Cleanup Event

To organize or volunteer for a Great American Cleanup event in your community, e-mail Sarah Wruck, volunteer services coordinator, or call Keep Arkansas Beautiful at 888-742-8701 (toll-free).

The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission is a division of
the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism is in compliance with
the Freedom of Information, Ar Code Ann., § 25-19-101 et seq.

Keep Arkansas Beautiful does not endorse, promote or guarantee the products or services provided by any commercial entity to which this website links. These links exist solely for reference and as a convenience to our website visitors.