Following America Recycles Day® (Nov. 15), Keep America Beautiful® and Michelob ULTRA came together to host a joint plogging* event on Saturday, Nov. 16. During the event more than 75 volunteers picked up 100 pounds of litter and recyclables from the streets of Houston, around Allen’s Landing Park.
Michelob ULTRA partnered with national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful and its local affiliate Keep Houston Beautiful as part of its “A World Worth Running” initiative to highlight the need to prevent litter from entering local waterways. Allen’s Landing, at the confluence of Buffalo and White Oaks bayous, was Houston’s first port and is now a thriving commercial hub.
At the event, ploggers received either a reusable trash or recyclables bag, gloves, and a litter picker to pick up the materials. At the end of the 5K route, each plogger’s trash and recyclables were weighed, separated, and sorted for proper processing. Among the totals picked up included 33 pounds of recyclables and 67 pounds of trash.
In addition, Michelob ULTRA presented a $200,000 donation to Keep America Beautiful, which will support the national nonprofit’s efforts to raise awareness about the economic, environmental, and social benefits of transforming our public spaces into beautiful places. The Anheuser-Busch Foundation also matched Michelob ULTRA’s donation, for a total contribution of $400,000 to Keep America Beautiful.
“The support we’re receiving from Michelob ULTRA and the Anheuser-Busch Foundation provides Keep America Beautiful with increasing opportunities to keep our communities clean, green, and beautiful,” said Keep America Beautiful President & CEO Helen Lowman. “This event was an example of we can provide opportunities to people to engage in a meaningful activity that will have long-term benefits for them as individuals, as well as their community.”
Michelob ULTRA began its partnership with Keep America Beautiful by adding plogging to the training experience of its Team ULTRA runners in advance of the TCS New York City Marathon. Spots on the team were awarded to runners who incorporated plogging into their fitness routines as well as share what they do to help make the environment a better place.