Massachusetts Beautification Bulletin | March 2024

Dear Friend,

The official start of spring arrives in just three weeks! Another mild, mostly snowless winter has made some people nostalgic for the snow-filled winters of the past. However, there is one upside to our warming climate: the litter cleanup season is much longer than it used to be! We invite you to take action in your own community to clean up the mess that has accumulated over the winter, while also advocating for common-sense solutions to reduce the volume of waste (e.g., an updated Bottle Bill). Scroll down to learn what you can to do make lasting changes and improvements right here in Massachusetts.

Donate to Support a Cleaner, Greener Massachusetts!

Sign Our Litter Prevention Taskforce Petition

Congratulations to Our Clean Community Awards Honorees

Massachusetts Environmental Legislator of the Year: Senator Marc Pacheco
KMB Chapter Leader of the Year: Marsha Goldstein of Keep North Attleborough Beautiful
KMB Youth Volunteers of the Year: Deeya Patel and Isabella Gelfusa of Framingham High School
KMB Rookie Chapter of the Year: Keep Barnstable Beautiful
KMB Municipal Partner of the Year: Janelle Rolke, City of Salem
KMB Litter Busters of the Year: Phil Larkin of Fitchburg, Al Rapoza of Framingham, Brian McPherson of Natick
KMB Business Partner of the Year: Noble Oak Whiskey

Join our awardees for a fun evening of celebration featuring delicious food, adult beverages, and entertainment.

Tickets are going fast, so reserve your spot today!

Join the Massachusetts Clean Community Awards Celebration

Join Our Litter-Free-to- the-Finish Boston Marathon Cleanup

Runners and fans from around the world will be coming to the Boston area for the 2024 Boston Marathon. Help Massachusetts put its best foot forward by participating in a pre-race cleanup.

Volunteers will be cleaning up the litter that has accumulated over the winter along the entire marathon route. Volunteers are welcome to join our teams in Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston during the first two weeks of April. Pre-registration is required.

Quotable: “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”

— Jane Goodall

From The KMB Blog:

The Persistent Challenge of Solid Waste Reduction in Massachusetts

Despite decades of government policies to reduce waste, we continue to "throw away" about six million tons of solid waste each year in Massachusetts. The state’s official goal is to achieve a 30% reduction in the amount of waste generated by 2030 and by 90% by 2050. Currently, we are not on a trajectory to meet these goals and it is hard to imagine how we will achieve such reductions, unless we make more drastic changes, such as passing extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws. Read more.

Read the KMB Blog

Did You Know? Milk Cartons are NOT Recyclable in Most Massachusetts Communities

In most of Massachusetts, milk cartons, as well as other “coated” cardboard such as frozen food boxes, should go in your trash. That's because they possess a thin wax-like layer called a "polycoat." The polycoat is great for creating a stronger box, but it prevents the paper from breaking down during the recycling (pulping) process. These boxes should go in the trash.

However, in some communities in Western Massachusetts, you can recycle these items. If your municipality is on this list, you can put coated cartons in your recycling bin.

Source: RecycleSmartMA.

Get More Recycling Tips

Thank You To Our Newest Litter Cleanup Crew Members

Over the past few weeks, we shipped 10 additional Litter Cleanup Kits to the following volunteers:

Lori from Abington
Luke from Malden
Joan from Pembroke
Mary Sue from Worcester
Stacey from Salem
Linda from Norwood
Hunter from Waltham
Michelle from Somerville
Julia from Lexington
Jackie from Millbury

Thank you for taking individual action to make your communities cleaner places to live, work, and play. If you’d like to enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of making a difference in your community, join the Massachusetts Litter Cleanup Crew today.

Join the Mass Litter Cleanup Crew

Apply Now for a 2024 Next-Gen Environmental Leader Scholarship

We are now accepting applications for our annual $2,500 Next-Gen Environmental Leader Scholarship. This scholarship supports a high school senior who has demonstrated a commitment to environmental protection, environmental justice, or community service to improve the environmental health or sustainability of their community.

Apply Today!

Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Events:

March 13: Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage
March 19: Mass Recycle Conference & Trade Show
March 21: Massachusetts Clean Community Awards
March 24: Keep Salem Beautiful Monthly Cleanup
March 28: Save Money With Sustainability
March 28: Monthly Zoom call with Keep Massachusetts Beautiful

See Our Full Events Calendar

Enviro-Newsworthy Developments...

Join Our KMB Facebook Group

Join Our Board of Directors

Thank you for reading our newsletter and please contact me if I can answer any questions you may have about our programs, launching a local KMB chapter in your community, or sponsorship opportunities.

Sincerely,

Neil Rhein, Founder & Executive Director

Keep Massachusetts Beautiful

Donate for a Cleaner Massachusetts

Become a KMB Business Sponsor

Shop for KMB Gear

Our Business Sponsors & Nonprofit Partners:

Keep Massachusetts Beautiful
11 Old North Trail | Mansfield, MA | 02048 United States

Manage your preferences or opt out.
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.

This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.