Keep Columbus Beautiful Hits Home Run with Baseball-Themed Litter Competition
Keep Columbus Beautiful (KCB) kicked off the Columbus Litter League, a baseball-themed litter abatement initiative, with the Season Opener on May 18. The season runs through Aug. 24. The League is sponsored by the Columbus Clippers, a professional Minor League Baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio, which is the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.
The Columbus Litter League is modeled after Columbus’ successful Litter League abatement effort that took place in the Linden neighborhood of Columbus for 16 years and currently in the Franklinton neighborhood.
Keep Columbus Beautiful is taking it citywide with the competition taking place in four geographic divisions: North, South, East and West. Following a city-wide Litter Index in the four divisions, KCB will select the worst littered areas of the city and assign each team an area to clean up twice a month. This will allow each team an equal opportunity to win. Keep Columbus Beautiful is providing each team with equipment that includes safety vests, gloves, litter grabbers, and trash bags and every player an official League ball cap.. Teams have been formed by neighborhood, faith-based groups, civic organizations, individual, businesses and even the City Council.
“Neighborhoods are the peanuts to our Cracker Jack®,the mustard to our hot dogs; the backbone to our city,” said Sherri Palmer, executive director of KCB.
More than 200 players came out on Litter League Opening Day and enjoyed an All American Ball Park lunch of hot dogs and chips. Teams collected 3.9 tons of litter!