Litter

Everyone in America deserves to live in a beautiful community.

How We Can End Litter

The facts on litter are sobering. According to our most recent Litter Study there are more than 50 Billion pieces of litter on the ground. That’s 152 pieces of litter for every American.

But there is good news. In the past ten years, littering along US roadways is down 54%!

And last year alone, over 64,000 clean-up events were held in the US, resulting in over 146,600 ACRES of parks, public lands, waterways, trails and playgrounds cleaned up by volunteers like you.

We know that litter is a solvable problem.
How do we end litter in America?

  • Individuals are finding ways to live more sustainably and clean up their communities
  • Companies and organizations are listening to consumers in their desire for producing products with less waste
  • State and Federal resources are being dedicated to improving infrastructure and waste management capabilites
Learn More About Litter
download the litter study

Take Action Now

Affiliate Network

Individual Action Center

Partners for Change

Working Within Communities

Keep America Beautiful works with individuals, communities, states, businesses, and our national leaders to address the challenges of ending litter and littering behavior.

Volunteer In Your Community

You might say, “I’m just one person, what can I do?”

Your help matters. When you volunteer to help clean up your community, you make a difference. When others see that you care for your community, they care too, and over time, behavior changes.

Our ongoing research shows that an end-to-end process for changing littering behavior through key activities like cleaning up public spaces is working.

Whether you work by yourself, or join a larger movement in your neighborhood, the cleanup is keeping America beautiful.

Volunteer Today and make a difference
KAB in the News: February 2023

KAB in the News: February 2023

by | Feb 1, 2023

STAMFORD, Conn. (January 2023) – Every day, we are tracking articles, stories, and mentions about the efforts of the thousands of staff members and volunteers who make Keep America Beautiful the nation’s leading community improvement organization. We feel it’s...

Taking Statewide Action

State and municipal governments play a key role in addressing litter on our streets, in our parks, and in our waterways. Keep America Beautiful affiliates across America are working side by side with these organizations to effect change. By working together, our affiliates add their voices to those supporting infrastructure improvements and change to better manage waste in our country.

Since our inception, we have proven again and again that the power of sustained change happens when we bringing all members of our communities together.

Our 700+ affiliates working in thousands of communities across the nation are doing this work every day. Ending litter in America is possible. We’re in it together.

Learn More About Our Affiliates

Working Together

Nationally, Keep America Beautiful supports the Federal policies and programs needed to end litter in America. 

Learn More About Where We Stand
Discover the litter research

Educating And Organizing

Understanding that litter reduction is a long-term effort, Keep America Beautiful partners with businesses large and small to provide educational resources and promote cleaning, greening, and beautifying in communities across America.
Get Resources And Toolkits
Get facts and statistics

Supporting Our Work Through
Corporate Responsibility

When implemented properly, Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle solutions work to address the sources of litter. Our partners’ investments allow us to develop the capacity of our KAB affiliate network through improvements in technology, training, skills development, and other resources.

Together, we work to place our affiliates, volunteers, and corporate partners in a strong position to lead change.

Discover How Your Company Can Help

KAB Volunteers By The Numbers

Last year alone, over 400,000 hard-working volunteers logged more than 2.9 Million volunteer hours over the course of over 64,000 events.

What did our combined service to our communities accomplish?

 of litter, debris, and recycling collected

 cleaned of litter

of streets, roads, and highways cleaned and beautified

of rivers, lakes, wetlands and shores cleaned

planted, helping restore communities

Great American Cleanup® (GAC)

Our signature program, the Great American Cleanup®is a nationwide effort spanning 3 months each year. Hundreds of thousands of people come together to take part in local volunteer opportunities, educating, cleaning and beautifying.

Together, our work cleans, greens and beautifies thousands of communities – and counting. 

Find A Cleanup Near You

Cigarette Litter Prevention Program

Since 2002, our Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, the nation’s largest program aimed at eliminating cigarette litter, has been implemented in over 1,800 communities, reducing cigarette litter by HALF within six months, on average.

Learn More

Litter Resources

Looking for additional information on litter?
Whether you’re an individual looking to find information about living a zero-waste lifestyle, a teacher looking for educational resources, or a company looking for information on how to hold a corporate cleanup day, take a look at our resource page!

Find Resources

YOUR DONATION IN ACTION

Your generosity allows us to expand our program offerings, fund community improvement projects from coast to coast, and provide the means needed to make meaningful and lasting impact in local communities across the U.S.

Start Now

Take Action Now

Affiliate Network

Individual Action Center

Partners for Change