Keep Grand Prairie Beautiful named best in nation
“Being best in the nation for our Keep Grand Prairie Beautiful efforts is a huge honor for us,” said Chan. “This award recognizes the 58,823 volunteer hours contributed by 16,972 volunteers, including students from the Grand Prairie Independent School District, who picked up litter, reduced and recycled waste and improved the community through beautification projects including the installation and upkeep of six community gardens, 19 school gardens and outdoor classrooms and the planting of hundreds of trees throughout the city. The award also recognizes the improvement of quality of life through programs such as a free tool loaning program, an Adopt-A-Senior program and a public art program.”
The city’s program also cites 47 neighborhood and creek cleanups resulting in 42 tons of litter; 59 Great American Cleanup events; 10 Eagle Scout projects; 11 school gardens/outdoor learning centers at elementary schools; and 21 simultaneous cleanups on one day. KGPB’s Litter Crew, which provides job training and work for parolees who meet the program’s criteria, cleaned 968.52 right-of-way miles and picked up 63.84 tons of litter. Thirty-nine neighborhoods have formed Clean & Beautiful Neighborhood (C&BN) committees to organize cleanup and beautification projects. KGPB’s Green & Clean Campus partnership with the GPISD resulted in 602,274 pounds of paper; 4,017 pounds of cardboard; 2,957 pounds of aluminum and 1,033 printer cartridges being recycled. Sixty-one companies have joined our Clean Company program and 28 of the 61 companies have achieved the prestigious 5-Star Clean Company status.
KGPB provides free lunch for volunteers participating in every cleanup and/or beautification event, offers chances to win fun door prizes and hosts “Most Unusual Item Found” contests during all of the cleanups. This year’s most unusual items included a $1,000,000 dollar bill and a metal plate with Russian writing on it.
Source: City of Grand Prairie
