Volunteers clean up record 566 tons of litter during Love the Boot Week
BATON ROUGE, La. – Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and Keep Louisiana Beautiful said a record 566 tons of litter were removed by 28,079 volunteers during last month's Love the Boot Week, Louisiana’s largest litter removal and beautification effort.
BATON ROUGE, La. – Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and Keep Louisiana Beautiful said a record 566 tons of litter were removed by 28,079 volunteers during last month's Love the Boot Week, Louisiana’s largest litter removal and beautification effort.
Volunteers gave a total of 77,648 hours at 1,624 events in all 64 parishes.
With support from Coca-Cola and Osprey Initiative, 9,870 plastic bottles and aluminum cans were diverted from the landfill and recycled. In addition to litter removal, volunteers focused on community beautification, planting 1,546 trees and 4,231 plants, and refurbishing 396 gardens.
"The people of Louisiana really stepped up during Love the Boot Week to clean up litter in honor of America’s 250th birthday,” said Nungesser. “I am so proud of every person that picked up litter in their community. Let’s keep the momentum going to clean up Louisiana. Report littering to 855-La-Litter and pick it up when you see it.”
Susan Russell, KLB executive director, added, “The growth of Love the Boot Week demonstrates the people’s prioritization of the issue of litter. We want to live in a cleaner, greener state. Together, we can create lasting change in our communities.”
The breakdown of Love the Boot Week projects by group category includes:
Non-profit: 462
Local government: 280
K-12 school: 234
KLB affiliate: 202
College/university: 136
State government: 119
Business: 96
Family/individual: 75
Church/place of worship: 20
Visit KeepLouisianaBeautiful.org to stay engaged with KLB throughout the year and to learn about and access litter prevention tips, grant opportunities, youth educational resources, and community centric programs.
In June, Nungesser and KLB will launch Love Our Waterways, a statewide waterway and shoreline cleanup this September. This is another opportunity to clean up the Sportsman’s Paradise, and everyone in every parish is encouraged to participate.