Event Overview

Cincinnati's Great American Cleanup

Area Environmental Volunteers Pick Up 300,000 Pounds of Trash

Thousands Take Part In Cincinnati’s Great American Cleanup

April 25th - Thousands of environmental volunteers rolled up their sleeves and got to work across the metro Cincinnati area as they gave their neighborhoods a makeover.

It was all part of the area’s Great American Cleanup. Keep America Beautiful's Great American Cleanup, the nation's largest community improvement program, takes place annually from March 1 through May 31, involving an estimated 2.8 million environmental volunteers and attendees. The hardworking volunteers donated more than 7.7 million hours in 2008 to clean, beautify and improve more than 17,000 communities during more than 30,000 events in all 50 states and beyond. Activities included beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning seashores and waterways, handling recycling collections, picking up litter, planting trees and flowers, and conducting educational programs and litter-free events.

In Cincinnati, organizers said that more than 9,000 people from 90 communities collected 300,000 pounds of litter, 25,000 pounds of recyclables and 1,100 tires during the event. All told, the one day event collected 650,000 pounds of litter and debris; 25,000 pounds of recyclables and 1,100 tires; and diverted more than 40,000 plastic (PET) bottles from the waste stream.

Besides picking up trash, the environmental volunteers also cleaned up parks and riverbanks. They also removed tires, collected recyclables and planted thousands of flowers and treats.

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory kicked off the wide-city events as the City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr drove a street sweeper in College Hill.

"This is a real spruce up for the community. It's a real morale booster. You get a whole bunch of volunteers out there to do a whole lot in one day. It really does make a huge difference," Keep Cincinnati Beautiful member Linda Holterhoff said.

Price Hill Will and Great American Insurance volunteers planted an edible garden while 300 West and East Price Hill volunteers cleaned and beautified the surrounding area.

"I think it's great that a lot of young people in Cincinnati are getting invested the city and really doing their part," volunteer Allison Rice said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMeTAmT67gU

http://www.keepcincinnatibeautiful.org/index.php/main/show/382

http://www.keepcincinnatibeautiful.org/index.php