pounds of litter

Every year Keep Virginia Beautiful takes part in the nationwide Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup, which runs from the first day of Spring until the first day of Summer.  At KVB, we call our campaign the Great Virginia Greenup because that’s what people throughout the Commonwealth are doing – greening up our natural and scenic environment!

After all the excitement and activities for Earth Day in April, there tends to be a lull in cleanup activities.  So, we want to inspire you by telling you what’s been happening around that state to get you motivated to keep going!

In Suffolk, over 1,000 people participated in the first annual Great Suffolk Cleanup event! The cleanup campaign, organized by Keep Suffolk Beautiful, encouraged individuals, families, businesses, and organizations to choose a spot in Suffolk to pick up litter.  There were 450 Suffolk City employees, representing all city departments, and many local businesses, along with a number of other organizations, families, and individuals.  Together, they filled 1,369 bags of trash and removed 375 tires from Suffolk roadsides.

The City of Manassas partnered with George C. Round Elementary School Student Council Association (SCA) to conduct a cleanup of the school grounds, the street in front of the school, Hastings Drive, and a nearby nature trail.  Litter pickers, safety vests, gloves and trash bags were provided to the students by the City of Manassas Department of Public Works.  Forty students and three adults participated in the cleanup!

A huge shout-out to Hampton Roads, where more than 2,400 volunteers spanned the region to participate in the Great American Cleanup.  All together they picked up 2,805 bags of litter, recovered 429 tires, planted 43 new trees and shrubs, and removed a total of 47 tons of litter from Hampton Roads communities!  Wow!

On the other end of the state, Keep Southwest Virginia Beautiful was in the water at the South Fork of the Holston River.  The were joined by Outdoor Adventures Center of Tazewell County, who provided canoes, which they brought to Abingdon Vineyards and Winery to be stored in a barn until cleanup day.   The Vineyard offered a discount for volunteers and also hauled off the litter and bulky items that were collected.  The 15 volunteers collected a tire, a large piece of metal, an inner tube, one shoe, and 14 bags of litter.

The Town of Dumfries Spring Cleanup was a success!  Hard-working volunteers collected 407 pounds of litter from the ground and labeled multiple storm drains. They’re making Dumfries a cleaner, safer county!

Large or small cleanups – what you do really does matter!  There’s still a lot of time for cleanups before the June 21, 2023 target date — get together with your family, friends, or groups.  Check out our Events Calendar for events you can join (or to add a relevant public event that you’re hosting).  Or find a KAB Affiliate near you and see what they’re up to!