Massachusetts Beautification Bulletin | May 2024
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April has been an incredibly busy month for environmentally-minded volunteers across Massachusetts. So far this year, volunteers have removed 68,000 pounds of litter and debris from roadsides, parks, beaches, and other public spaces. To help support these efforts, please consider donating to our Earth Month Campaign so that we can keep the positive momentum going. For more news and updates, please scroll down.
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WBZ Features KMB in Earth Day Special
WBZ News NEXT Weather Team meteorologists Alyssa Andrews and Lexie O’Connor joined us for a Community Service Cleanup on April 17 in Marlborough. During this cleanup, 20 volunteers from BWT Pharma & Biotech collected and removed approximately 400 pounds of trash and debris from The Grove conservation property.
This news segment highlighted the tremendous work that our volunteers, business sponsors, and 40 local chapters are doing across the state to keep communities litter-free and beautiful. Visit our web page to learn more about the benefits of launching a local KMB chapter in your town or city.
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Your Support Funds Our Cleanup Efforts Across Massachusetts!
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Be The Change: Support Our Earth Month Fundraiser
It’s not too late to support our Earth Month fundraising campaign. With one day left in Earth Month, please help us get closer to our $5,000 fundraising goal.
These funds will help offset the cost of our Massachusetts Litter Cleanup Crew program. So far, we have shipped 1,632 Litter Cleanup Kits to volunteers across the state and each volunteer is taking action to keep their communities litter-free.
With your one-time or monthly support, we can continue our mission of taking action to make Massachusetts a cleaner, greener place to live, work, and play!
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Quotable: “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
— Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden
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The haul from Mansfield's 17th Annual Great Mansfield Cleanup
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Great Massachusetts Cleanup Season Shifts into High Gear
April is the peak month for Great Massachusetts Cleanup activity, with dozens of events taking place across the state. So far this year, we can report the following (partial) results:
- 2,974 =Total number of volunteers
- 6,734 = Total volunteers hours
- 3,232 = Number of trash bags filled
- 67,791 = Total pounds of litter and debris removed (33+ tons)
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How trashy is your town or city?
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How Much of Our "Stuff" Ends Up in the Trash?
The map featured here indicates which communities have higher and lower trash levels based on a 2022 annual solid waste survey conducted by the MA Department of Environmental Protection. The green-shaded communities are throwing away less trash, while the dark red and magenta-shaded communities are throwing away the most trash per household.
Why the difference? A lot of it has to do with waste reduction strategies taking place in the green-shaded communities that help residents keep things out of the trash. With program like robust recycling outreach, frequent leaf and yard waste collection, convenient textile recovery bins, collecting hard-to-recycle materials, pay-as-you-throw programs (where residents pay per bag or cart of trash they generate), and food scrap collection programs, many Massachusetts municipalities are successfully improving their waste management practices.
To learn more about how people, towns, and cities are working to improve their waste management practices, read the April issue of the RecycleSmartMA newsletter.
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Don't Procrastinate: Apply Now!
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Deadline for 2024 Next-Gen Environmental Leader Scholarship is Nearing!
We are accepting applications for our annual $2,500 Next-Gen Environmental Leader Scholarship through June 30. 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.
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Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Events:
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Enviro-Newsworthy Developments...
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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
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| Our Business Sponsors & Nonprofit Partners:
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