Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup is the nation’s largest community improvement program, taking place annually from March 1 through May 31. Activities can include beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning waterways, handling recycling collections, picking up litter, removing graffiti, planting trees, and conducting educational programs and litter-free events – anything that keeps the community beautiful.
The Don't mess with Texas Trash-Off serves as Texas’ signature event for the Great American Cleanup. The 2016 Don’t mess with Texas Trash-Off is scheduled for Saturday, April 9. This event is part of the close partnership between Keep Texas Beautiful and the Texas Department of Transportation.
Any Texan can participate. Online registration for local organizations to schedule events in their communities is now available at www.ktb.org. Those that register will gain access to valuable resources to plan, promote, and host an event. Limited supplies will also be available for participants that register, including trash bags, volunteer giveaways, promotional items, and more to assist in facilitating their cleanup event. Participants may also elect to post their event information on the Keep Texas Beautiful event calendar. KTB will be leading individuals and community groups looking to volunteer to the KTB website to find an opportunity in their area.
In 2015, 1,313 Great American Cleanup events were held in Texas, with close to 65,000 volunteers contributing more than 300,00 hours. In total, 9.2 million pounds of waste and recyclables were collected.
Also in 2015, 1,030 Don't mess with Texas Trash-Off events were held across the state, featuring more than 28,000 volunteers. At the end of the day, 3,709 miles of highway were cleared of litter and debris, totaling 1.6 million pounds of litter.
For more information about KTB, visit www.ktb.org.
For more information on the Texas Department of Transportation, visit www.dontmesswithtexas.org.
