Keep Allen Beautiful (KAB) presented its annual report to Council in March. Despite program suspensions due to COVID-19, the report detailed an enthusiastic community response for beautification efforts in 2020.
Adopt-A-Program evolves to include individual opportunities
As group cleanup events shut down last spring, KAB saw an increase in individuals requesting opportunities to get involved. Many residents conducted one-time cleanups without an Adopt-A-Program promotional street sign or contractual obligation.
Allen youth also wanted to get out of the house and beautify their neighborhoods. KAB Chair Ryan Smith noted a group of three students who collected litter and then created a collage of before-and-after cleanup photos. A separate volunteer conducted 21 separate one-time cleanups in different Allen locations.
KAB offers remote educational programs
Remote learning became important for people who wanted to learn about beautifying the environment. City of Allen’s two educations specialists offered classes on recycling education and litter prevention via Teams, Zoom and Google Classroom.
Our education specialists also volunteered to provide environmental education classes at Joe Farmer Recreation Center for staff who bring their children to work.
Litter education became even more important last year. KAB says discarded personal protective equipment (PPE) became an emerging new form of litter in 2020. In response, KAB joined Keep Texas Beautiful and Keep American Beautiful to guide volunteers on how to handle cleanups during- and post-Covid-19.
2020 cleanup results
- 1,138 volunteers
- 1,709 volunteer hours
- 97 cleanups
- 260 miles cleaned
- 82,800 pounds diverted
- Eight awards
Mark your calendars - Great American Cleanup is April 17!
KAB invites all City of Allen water utility customers to kick off their spring cleaning at Great American Cleanup! Recycle, dispose, and discard items from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 17. Proof of water bill required. Learn more and view accepted items.
Note: Bulk trash, metals and loose brush will not be accepted at the event. Instead, schedule a convenient curbside pickup by calling CWD at 972.392.9300 (option 2).
