Cleanup Kit Giveaway

Lake Anna volunteers cleaning up the roads.

Reporting Your Cleanup is Rewarding

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Lake Anna volunteers cleaning up the roads.We’re about halfway through our Fall LOVE VA cleanup campaign! We’re encouraging everyone to get out in the beautiful Autumn weather to clean litter off the roadside, parking lots, playgrounds, or other areas where you see a need.  It’s good for your health and good for the community!

Then make sure to let us know what you’ve accomplished!  For our 70th anniversary this year, our goal is to have at least 70 reports submitted, with at least 700 bags of litter picked up over the course of the event.

And right now, when you submit the results of your cleanup, your name will be entered to win some fun PRIZES!  We’re giving away Litter Cleanup Kits, At-Home Sustainability Sampler Kits, Personal Care Sustainability Sampler Kits, and On-the-Go Sustainability Sampler Kits.  You can learn more about our prizes by visiting our Litter Prevention webpage.

You can also support Keep Virginia Beautiful and LOVE VA with a financial contribution.  All donations of at least $25 will receive a one-day free pass to any Virginia State Park.  Donations of at least $100 are eligible to receive either a deluxe cleanup kit or an automobile trash receptacle.

We want to give a special shout out to Jody K. and her team in Lake Anna, pictured above, for cleaning up the roadside several times in the last few weeks; and to Charles T. in Emporia picking up litter on the roadStephen and his Village Bank team who cleaned up in Midlothian; to Destin and the Clean Club at VCU who picked up 169 pounds Teens completed a road litter cleanupof litter!  Also to Joseph and a group of 15 members from VFW POST 7327 who each spent an hour picking up a bag of litter.

Charles in Emporia sent us a selfie during his cleanup, and a group of teens in Spotsylvania sent us a picture after they spent their time picking up litter too.

So far we’ve received reports of 182 bags of litter, 6 bags of recycling, and 112 volunteers, who gave 197 hours of their time!  Thank you for the important work you’re doing, and for reporting your accomplishments to us!

And now for a special bonus!  If you’re reading today’s Latest News post, we want to thank you for caring about litter in our environment!  We’ll ship a free cleanup kit to the first 10 people to submit a request using this form.  Each cleanup kit includes a litter grabber, safety vest, work gloves, and goodies, as available!  Good luck!

Giveaway Time

Cleanup Kit Giveaway

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Giveaway TimeWe’re excited to announce that it’s our fall Cleanup Kit Giveaway time!

The change of seasons is welcome to many, with cooler temperatures, and less humidity.  But unfortunately, one thing that doesn’t change is the need to clean up litter left in the landscape.

According to Keep America Beautiful’s recent Litter Study, nearly 50 billion pieces of litter along United States roadways and waterways. Overall, there was more litter near waterways (25.9 billion pieces on 10.7 million miles) than on roadways (23.7 billion pieces on 8.3 million miles) though, proportionally, roadway and waterway litter represent similar quantities of the total litter items discarded nationwide (47.8 percent and 52.2 percent, respectively).

Keep America Beautiful encourages all individuals to pick up 152 pieces of litter. Why 152? Using information from the litter study, they determined that if everyone made the individual action of picking up 152 pieces of litter (all at once) there would be no litter on the ground until someone littered again. #152andYou

We sincerely appreciate those who continue to make the effort to pick up litter from roadsides, parks, and waterways.  And we want to help by getting you to tools you need to safely pick up litter.

Each Cleanup Kits includes:

    • 2 sturdy litter grabbers,
    • 2 safety vests,
    • 2 pairs of work glove,
    • other goodies as available!

Enter here: Cleanup Kit Giveaway Entry Form from now until September 30th!

We’ll draw 10 names from all the entries and give away 10 Cleanup Kits the first week in October — just in time for “Virginia is for Lovers Not Litter” month!

Subscribe to our eNews so you can stay up to date with this Giveaway and others!

Cleanup Kit

Cleanup Kit Winners Announced

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Thank you to everyone who is participating in our Cleanup Kit Giveaway!  It’s good to know that many people care about litter in our landscapes and on our roads.  The comments have been encouraging too, when asked to tell why they would like a kit:

“We have a date scheduled with our employees of to clean up our road that our factory is on.”

“To help my scouts pick up trash safer.”

“The cleanup kit will help my sorority sisters and I to reach and pickup trash along our stretch of adopted highway.”

What is your why?  Tell us why you would like to have a Cleanup Kit, and enter your name for the September drawing!

Congratulations to our August Cleanup Kit Winners:

Jennifer A. of Wytheville
Jennifer P. of Richmond
Lauren C. of Surry
Jim C. of Mechanicsville
John S. of Cross Junction
Katelyn P. of Montclair
Kathi H. of Round Hill
Roxanne W. of Montross
Harbans S. of Herndon
Jim H. of Keswick

We appreciate your work to improve our natural and scenic environment!

Cigarette Fairy Poster

Spoiler Alert – There Is No Cigarette Fairy

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One of our affiliates, Keep Manassas Beautiful, launched a campaign suggesting that the “Cigarette Fairy” just can’t keep up with the most littered item in our landscape and storm drains.  The purpose of their campaign was to add a litter humor while engaging residents to improve their community through litter prevention.  With funding awarded by Keep Virginia Beautiful’s Green Grants, their first Cigarette Litter Prevention Program raised awareness of new littering ordinances, and reminded citizens about the proper way to dispose of their cigarette litter.

However, I’m sorry to say, there is no Cigarette Fairy.  There is no magic solution, folks.  Just common sense.  There’s so much we can do; there’s so much that YOU can do!  We hope that you’ll use our website as a resource for many things — to participate in events as they become available again, or Adopt-a-Highway to clean up a stretch of road (and get your name on a VDOT sign!), or support us financially so we can continue to educate the public and put the right tools in your hands.

Speaking of tools you can use, if you’re an adult smoker who would like a pocket ashtray, all you have to do is take the pledge not to litter, and we’ll send you one for free.  If you are the owner of a business or organization that would benefit from a Cigarette Butt Receptacle to deter cigarette litter, enter your name before August 31st to be included in our drawing for one of ten receptacles.

A Litter Study conducted by Keep America Beautiful revealed that smokers are more likely to litter if the environment contains any type of litter, not just cigarette butts. More littered environments encourage more littering.  A clean street, parking lot, playground, and community encourages others to behave responsibly.  Let us know that you would like to receive one of ten Cleanup Kits that we’re giving away this month!

*Credits for bringing the Cigarette Fairy to life go to the talented artistry of Heather Maltby-Goble’s and Evolution Printing.  See more about Keep Manassas Beautiful’s campaign.

Trash grabbers, trash & recycling bags, gloves, hand scale

Cleanup Kits are Ready!

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We want to say THANK YOU! to the volunteers who came out to help us sort out supplies and assemble Cleanup Kits!  They are ready to be shipped to ten names that will be drawn at the end of July.  We are also grateful for the support of Altria and HandsOn, who make this program possible.  These are people and organizations that truly care about the scenic and natural environment of our Commonwealth, and their help is going to bring about change.

That’s the one thing that’s going to affect the Litter Tide — when individual behavior changes.  One way to do that is ongoing litter cleanups.  Littered environments attract more litter.  Another way is to have attractive and well-maintained landscaping to set a community standard.  Neighborhoods that make an effort to “beautify” promote a sense of personal responsibility not to litter.

That’s why we are giving away Cleanup Kits, to give you the ability to get out there and safely pick up litter from the roadways and landscape.  You can have an impact on people’s behavior.

We pose a question on our Cleanup Kit entry form that asks what people hope to accomplish with a Cleanup Kit, and the responses have been so encouraging!!  Here are some good ones:

“People are disposing of their masks and gloves in parking lots. I would love to clean this mess up.”

“I cannot stand to see the irresponsibility of some, to ruin the beauty of our earth.”

“Every grabber is a catalyst to build a community of stewards who will work to leave our city cleaner and safer than ever, protecting the local environment.”  Whoa, well said!

And here’s a great one:

“As an earth-loving, litter-despising eco citizen, I would be honored to use your cleanup kits to help keep our environment beautiful.”

What would YOU hope to accomplish with a Cleanup Kit?  Fill out a form and let us know!