STAMFORD, Conn. (September 21, 2022) – Keep America Beautiful®, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, announces the first results of the 24th annual Great American Cleanup® (GAC). In the first reporting, over 150,000 volunteers and participants took part in over 6,000 events during the three months of GAC.
Taking place annually each spring, GAC engages the Keep America Beautiful (KAB) network of 700 affiliates and KAB partner organizations to beautify communities across the nation. Activities include removing litter and debris from roadsides, highways, shorelines, and waterways; planting trees, flowers, and gardens; and cleaning and restoring nature trails, recreation areas, and playgrounds.
The 2022 Great America Cleanup was officially held from March 21 to June 22:
- 6,021 events
- 152,495 volunteers and participants
- 586,297 volunteer hours (that’s 66.92 years!)
- 8,586,502 pounds of litter and debris collected, and 1,603,788 pounds recycled
- 14,817 acres of public lands cleaned and improved (that’s 17.5x the size of Central Park!)
- 9,472 miles along roadways and waterways cleaned and beautified
- 6,806 trees planted
“Cities and towns from coast to coast are celebrating the results of the 24th annual Great American Cleanup. Each year, these numbers tell the story of how deeply people care about their communities and how much they take pride in clean and green hometowns,” said Keep America Beautiful President and CEO, Jennifer Lawson. “GAC brings cleaner spaces and waterways, and it brings neighbors together, and that’s a beautiful thing. I know how much planning and effort goes into every event, so thank you to everyone who made time to clean up their community during the 2022 GAC.”
Highlights of the 2022 Great American Cleanup include:
- News reach of 2 billion in earned media
- National media interviews on The Weather Channel and Fox Weather Channel
- News articles featuring GAC in the Los Angeles Times, Earth.Org, Treehugger, TheStreet, Cool Deeds, and Tampa Bay Times
- 2500 free litter removal kits mailed to volunteers for GAC events
- A first-of-its-kind event kicked off GAC on March 23 – Keep America Beautiful and Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful hosted “Connecting People and Places: A Community Conversation About Litter” at Georgia Gwinnett College
See a full list of GAC 2022 events, highlights, and social media posts by clicking here.
Sponsors for the 2022 Great American Cleanup: Altria, Diageo, Dogfish Head, Dow, Igloo, JOE by Joseph Abboud, McAllister, and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co.
Check back for updated results!
About Keep America Beautiful: Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling, and Beautify America’s Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green, and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision. The organization is driven by the work and passion of 700 Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.
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Contact: Abby Turpin, Director of Communications
Keep America Beautiful®
aturpin@kab.org
