Stamford-based Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit that leads nationwide cleanup efforts, announced this week the launch of its annual Great American Cleanup, which aims to clean and restore towns and cities across the country.
Now in its 17th year, the cleanup utilizes more than 4 million volunteers and 600 national Keep America Beautiful affiliates to help renew parks and trails and clean shorelines and waterways. Volunteers remove litter and debris, collect recyclable materials, and plant trees and gardens to beautify areas in need.
It will kick off in more than 20,000 communities this month, and events will last through the fall.
“As the season turns to spring, we”™re excited to launch another year of America”™s largest community improvement program,” said Jennifer M. Jehn, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful, in a statement.
Participants in last year”™s cleanup removed 37 million pounds of litter from communities, collected more than 250 million pounds of recyclable items and planted 41,000 trees across the nation. The 2014 cleanup also returned $179 million in measurable benefits across the participating communities, the nonprofit reported.
Keep America Beautiful, which has its headquarters on Washington Boulevard, was founded in 1953, and more than 1,000 community organizations participate in its programs.
