Keep America Beautiful Month

The month of April is the annual Keep America Beautiful (KAB) month, and it occurs in conjunction with other environmentally centered commemorative days, such as Earth Day on April 22 and Arbor Day on April 30. The Keep America Beautiful organization is responsible for organizing events throughout the month where volunteers work together to keep their communities clean and beautiful and reduce environmental impact. The goal of this non-profit group is to raise awareness about littering and recycling and instill community pride by beautifying local landscapes in communities.

During the month, more than forty thousand events take place throughout the country to encourage people to clean up communities by picking up litter, recycling, and planting flowers, shrubs, and trees. Community grants are available for more expensive projects, such as installing public trash cans or helping clean up after natural disasters. Partnerships with local community agencies also encourage bigger changes, and service projects are organized for middle and high school students to provide them with education about leadership and civic improvement.

Background

KAB was founded in 1953 by several corporations, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies. Some of these groups included manufactures such as the American Can Company, Owens-Illinois Glass Company, Coca-Cola, and the Dixie Cup Company. The goal was to tackle the post-war problem of litter.

After World War II, manufacturers began producing more consumable goods, many of these in disposable containers. Then in the mid to late 1950s, the US Interstate Highway System began construction, allowing Americans to become more mobile—but roadside litter quickly became a problem. KAB was created to educate the public about littering and engage partnerships with industrial, governmental, and other like-minded non-profit organizations. The organizations also became involved in scientific studies related to the impact of litter to provide non-partisan reports informing the American public about litter and related environmental issues.

KAB began anti-litter media campaigns that included public service announcements (PSAs), television commercials, and brochure distribution. KAB also supported the passage of anti-litter ordinances for individuals caught littering that included fines and jail sentences. Many campaigns have also been launched throughout the history of KAB to remind people of the importance of keeping their communities clean and instilling community pride. Some of these include the “People Start Pollution. People Can Stop It.” in 1971; the “Clean Community System” in 1976; and the Great American Cleanup” in 1999.

In 2018, KAB celebrated its 65th anniversary and started a new campaign with the PSA, “Let’s Talk About America” that reached a wide audience. It was also the 20th anniversary of the Great American Cleanup, and that year volunteers spent nearly 9.4 million hours cleaning up public spaces and planting trees, flowers, and shrubs. In addition, volunteers collected nearly sixty million pounds of litter and recyclable material.

In 2020, KAB produced a definitive study on litter in the United States that built on a 2009 study looking at multiple facets of litter, including observational, behavioral, public perception, and cost. It was the largest study of its kind ever produced, and it was considered successful despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the study reported that 90 percent of Americans feel litter is a local problem; roadside litter has decreased by 54 percent over the last decade; and fifty billion pieces of litter are currently on the ground in the United States.

Overview

During Keep America Beautiful Month in April, the Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup occurs. This spring-cleaning event is the largest community improvement program that gets people involved in local cleanup. Volunteers can register to help with KAB and are then sent a clean-up kit that has a litter picker, garbage bag, work gloves, scale, and reflective vest. They are also connected with events throughout the month in their community to participate, and volunteers can get connected with others to work together with local businesses and community organizations. Volunteers are encouraged to report their results to KAB and to share these on social media.

Keeping Places Clean and Beautiful Locally

Individuals can easily take steps in their local community to keep it clean and beautiful during Keep America Beautiful month and all year long. Everyone should try to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste, and the Keep America Beautiful organization encourages people to take this pledge. It also encourages people to explore transitioning to zero waste by analyzing their product purchasing behavior, reducing or not using single-use items, buying items in bulk, eliminating unnecessary products, refusing promotional items and samples, changing commutes to lower or carbon-free options, finding package-free products to purchase, and reducing food waste.

Keeping the outdoors clean starts in everyone’s yard through trash cleanup. Removing and recycling old, nonworking vehicles or equipment from yards and driveways keeps places cleaner and better looking. KAB hosts a vehicle donation program to help people get rid of unwanted vehicles by offering free pickup and a receipt for tax deduction purposes.

Individuals can also focus on their own yards or shared spaces in the community by planting trees, shrubs, and flowers. Plants are essential to the carbon dioxide cycle, provide habitats for wildlife, and add to the aesthetics of the community. In addition, flowers help pollinating insects that are critical for the health of the environment. KAB encourages people to research native species of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers and plant these in open spaces on their property or in community garden areas.

Another way to promote cleaner communities is to combine regular outdoor exercise with litter cleanup. Plogging is a fitness movement that integrates jogging and picking up litter. It simply involves stopping to remove litter and placing it in a garbage while jogging around neighborhood roadways or nearby parks, trails, or beaches. Afterwards, the litter can be either recycled or disposed of properly. Plogging encourages exercise and enjoying nature while keeping communities clean.

Bibliography

“April 2022: Celebrate Keep America Beautiful Month with These 10 Tips.” Keep America Beautiful 2022, kab.org/celebrate-keep-america-beautiful-month-with-these-10-tips/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.

“Keep America Beautiful 2020 National Litter Study.” Keep America Beautiful, 2023, kab.org/litter-study/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2023.

“Keep PCB Beautiful.” Keep PCP Beautiful Organization, 2023, www.keeppcbbeautiful.org/great-american-cleanup. Accessed 29 Apr. 2023.

Plummer, Bradford. “The Origins of Anti-Litter Campaigns” Mother Jones, 2006, www.motherjones.com/politics/2006/05/origins-anti-litter-campaigns/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.