Massachusetts Beautification Bulletin | October 2023
| |
Halloween is swiftly gaining ground on the Christmas holiday season's reputation for generating huge amounts of solid waste (not to mention candy wrapper litter). Nowadays, in addition to the Jack-o-Lanterns and mum plants adorning front porches and yards, giant inflatable figures, plastic body parts, and orange string lights are common sights.
While these items certainly add to the fun of the season, they also contribute to the mountains of unnecessary waste that will need to be disposed of eventually. Scroll down for a few handy tips on how to manage your Halloween waste, along with other news items and upcoming events.
| |
Congratulations to Our 2023 Plant Something Bee-eautiful Grantees
Our annual Plant Something Bee-eautiful program supports the planting of pollinator-friendly plants and trees in public spaces.
This program not only beautifies public spaces but also restores natural habitats for pollinators. Funding for this program is made possible by a generous sponsorship of $10,000 from Noble Oak Whiskey.
Our 2023 crop of grantees includes:
- Keep Plainville Beautiful: $2,500 for the creation of a new pollinator garden at Telford Park
- Keep Mansfield Beautiful: $2,500 for the restoration of the pollinator garden at the Jordan Jackson School
- Keep Framingham Beautiful: $1,500 for the installation of a new pollinator garden at Farm Pond, a popular public park
- Keep Walpole Beautiful: $500 for the installation of new adopt-a-spot locations and pollinator habitats
- Cove Elementary School in Beverly: $500 for the creation of a new pollinator garden in collaboration with a team of fourth-grade students and parents
- Wakullah Street Community Garden in Roxbury: $500 for the creation of a dedicated pollinator garden for bees, butterflies, and other creatures
- Aptucxet Garden Club in Bourne: $500 for the creation of a new pollinator garden and educational signage at the Jonathan Bourne Public Library
- Nahant Community Garden: $500 for an upgraded pollinator garden and raised beds at the Johnson School, a cooperative community resource
- Grow Native in Waltham: $500 for the restoration of a pollinator garden in partnership with Waltham Fields Community Farm
- South Shore YMCA Family Farm in Hanover: $500 for the creation of a new pollinator garden along the walking path from Camp Gordon Clark
- Town of Ashburnham: $500 for the creation of a new pollinator meadow at Winchester Park in collaboration with the Conway School of Design
Congratulations to this year’s grantees and we look forward to seeing the fruits of your labor next summer and fall!
Learn more about Plant Something Bee-eautiful and/or apply for a 2024 PSB grant.
| |
Zero Waste Zone:Halloween Trash Tips
Halloween can be a scary time of year for recycling companies due to an increase in contamination, which occurs when non-recyclable items get mixed with recyclable items. Please keep the following trash tips in mind this Halloween:
- Candy wrappers: while you may wish that these items would be recyclable, they are not. Please place them in the trash or explore Rubicon's Trash or Treasure program.
- Costumes: If you have old costumes you no longer need, check online for a local costume swap opportunity. If you can’t find one, remember that all textiles should be donated and not placed in your trash barrel or your recycling bin.
Pumpkins: If you have a garden or backyard, you can simply leave pumpkins for the squirrels and other critters. You can also compost pumpkins in your backyard, or if you’re a Black Earth Compost customer, place them on top of your compost bin. - Halloween string lights: Check with your municipality to see if they have a scrap metal or electronics collection bin and if they will accept string lights. You can also search the Beyond the Bin directory for more options.
| |
Quotable: “The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.”
— Lady Bird Johnson
| |
Save The Date: Clean Community Awards Celebration Coming on March 21, 2024
Please mark your calendar for Thursday, March 14 as we celebrate the 2023 Clean Community Awards honorees from 6-9 p.m.
We’ll be gathering at the Village Hall in Framingham to recognize volunteers, KMB chapter leaders, legislators, businesses, and others for their exceptional environmental protection and community improvement efforts. This will surely be another fun celebration featuring inspiring stories, delicious food, adult beverages, and entertainment!
Nominations for the 2023 Massachusetts Clean Community Awards are now open and will be accepted through January 26, 2024. Awards will be presented in the following categories:
- Environmental Legislator of the Year
- KMB Business Partner of the Year
- KMB Chapter Leader of the Year
- KMB Rookie Chapter of the Year
- KMB Litter Buster of the Year
- KMB Youth Volunteer of the Year
- KMB Municipal Partner of the Year
| |
From The KMB Blog:The Profound Impact of Picking Up Litter in Our Communities
It's a humble —often overlooked act—yet cleaning up your own neighborhood holds the power to transform our communities and reinvigorate our connection to nature and history.
| |
Join Our Zoom Call:Learn Ways to Clean Up and Green Up Your Community
We are launching a new monthly Zoom call for KMB chapter leaders and anyone else who is interested in learning about how to create a cleaner, greener, more beautiful community.
Our topic for the first call on November 30 at 7 p.m. will be “Ideas for inspiring more residents and businesses to get involved in local litter cleanup and prevention efforts.”
Representatives from Keep Framingham Beautiful will share some of the ideas that have worked incredibly well in their community. We’ll also reserve 15 minutes at the end for an open-ended Q&A session.
If you’d like to attend, please register in advance and we’ll send you the Zoom link.
| |
Thank You To Our Community Service Cleanup Partners!
September and October were busy months, thanks to the help received from our Corporate Community Service Cleanup partners. In total, we engaged 224 volunteers from the companies listed below and removed 3,070 pounds (1.5 tons) of trash from the Massachusetts landscape:
- The Bridgespan Group on September 7 in and around the Southwest Corridor Park in Boston’s South End
- Beacon Capital on September 14 at Carson Beach in South Boston
- Talbots on September 20 at Mound Street Park and beach in Quincy
- State Street Global Advisors on September 19 in Boston’s Fort Point Channel neighborhood
- SPEC Process Engineering & Construction on September 28 at Simonds Park in Burlington
- Be Biopharma on October 5 in Cambridge’s Kendall Square
- BWT Pharma & Biotech on October 10 at the Grove Conservation property in Marlborough
- Bluewave on October 19 at Langone Park and Boston’s North End
- Samsonite on October 26 along Route 140 in Mansfield
This program is available on a year-round basis. In fact, the cold-weather months are a great time to clean up communities due to the lack of roadside vegetation, poison ivy, and excessive heat. Learn more about our Corporate Community Service Cleanup program.
| |
Support the Massachusetts Litter Cleanup Crew This Giving Tuesday
GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past 10 years, this idea has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
You can show your generosity in a variety of ways during GivingTuesday—whether it’s helping a neighbor, advocating for an issue, sharing a skill, or donating to Keep Massachusetts Beautiful. Everyone has something to give, and every act of generosity counts.
On GivingTuesday this year, we are seeking donations to support our Massachusetts Litter Cleanup Crew program. We ship Litter Cleanup Kits to volunteers across the state, and each kit costs us about $30, depending on shipping costs. So if you’d like to make a real difference here in Massachusetts, please support this program with a donation. Together, we can keep our communities litter-free all year long.
Litter Cleanup Kits also make a great holiday gift for the litter-phobes in your life! Request a Litter Cleanup Kit today.
| |
Enviro-Newsworthy Developments...
| |
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
| |
| Our Business & Nonprofit Partners:
| |
|
|
|
