By Dr. Karen Bell, Keep Liberty Beautiful.
I am pleased to announce that Keep Liberty Beautiful recently received a $3,000 “How to Reconsider Litter and Recycle Right” grant from the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation. This statewide organization leads more than 70 city and county affiliates in their efforts to end litter, reduce waste, promote recycling, and beautify communities.
The grant, created in partnership with the Georgia Recycling Coalition and made possible by the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America, provided funding for Keep Liberty Beautiful to educate residents on the harmful impacts of litter and recycling contamination. Dollars will also go toward promoting proper recycling methods and litter abatement tips.
“We at Keep Liberty Beautiful were so excited to receive this grant from Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation to help us share information about the need to decrease litter and improve recycling,” said Dr. Karen Bell, Executive Director of Keep Liberty Beautiful. “When our residents are educated on how to recycle correctly and the importance of reducing litter, we have a more clean, green, and beautiful community.”
The name of the grant references two public service campaigns related to the issues at hand. The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation’s #reconsiderlitter campaign asks the public to contemplate the negative effects of litter on our economy, health, and environment, as well campaign aims to increase recycling and decrease contaminants being placed at drop-off locations.
“We’re thrilled that we could come together to provide the resources residents need to decrease litter and improve recycling,” said Natalie Johnston- Russell, executive director of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation. “The two often go hand in hand — if somebody sees a can or bottle in the street, we want them to not only pick it up but to know how to dispose of it properly. If we can make sure people have the correct information and that they understand the myriad benefits of clean, green communities, then we should start to see significant improvements occur.”
With help from the grant, Keep Liberty Beautiful passed out informational postcards during our last Recycle It! fairs and handed them out at the recycling drop-off locations. The cards will also be given out at Bring One for the Chipper in Liberty County.
We also held three recycling contests with prizes. The one for elementary children and teachers had them decorate their classroom doors using recyclable materials. The contest for middle school students had them create a short video on recycling. The last contest was for high school and college students to develop a trailer wrap on recycling and litter prevention. Team KLB had a lot of fun seeing what everyone came up with. Now we can share the finished projects on KLB social media to help educate our community.
To see all the projects submitted, visit keeplibertybeautiful.org.
You can also sign the #reconsiderlitter pledge at kgbf.org.
About Keep Liberty Beautiful: Established in 1983, Keep Liberty Beautiful is one of 78 Keep America Beautiful/Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation affiliates. Keep Liberty Beautiful is a community education and volunteer action program that focuses on litter prevention and eradication, waste reduction and recycling, stormwater pollution and water conservation, and community beautification and environmental improvement.
For more information, contact us at Keep Liberty Beautiful, P.O. BOX 889, Midway, GA 31320; (912) 880-4888; or keeplibertybeautiful.org.
About the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation: The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation has a 44-year history of doing the little things that make a big difference in Georgia’s communities. Established in 1978, we aim to educate and inspire Georgians to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environments. The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation supports more than 70 local affiliates across the state, and its programs represent 80% of Georgia’s population.
We also strive to engage new communities and individuals in our efforts to end littering, promote recycling and waste reduction, and beautify communities. For more information, visit www. kgbf.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Don’t forget to recycle your live Christmas tree on Jan. 8, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hinesville Recycling Transfer Station on East Oglethorpe Highway (Highway 84) and Fraser Drive, across from McDonald’s.