GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP®

Every spring, hundreds of thousands of people spend three months cleaning, greening and beautifying the places they live — through a network of 700 local affiliates and the partners who back them.

Our Impact

The Great American Cleanup is the nation’s largest community improvement program, mobilizing thousands of communities and millions of individuals nationwide to take part in litter cleanups, plantings and greening initiatives, recycling drives, and more. Each year, from the first day of spring through the first day of summer, the program inspires Americans to roll up their sleeves, do a little spring cleaning outdoors, and help create cleaner, greener, and more beautiful communities.

The Great American Cleanup annually engages more than 300,000 volunteers and participants, whose work returns, on average, more than $20 million in measurable benefits across thousands of participating communities.

Get Involved

Keep America Beautiful believes that people and places are profoundly interconnected. Whether you live in a big city, a suburb or a small rural town, the Great American Cleanup is a shining example of how lasting, positive change happens when people work together.

Through programs like the Great American Cleanup, Keep America Beautiful affiliates, corporate partners, and organizations, alongside millions of volunteers, contribute to the transformation of communities and public spaces. Together, they work to create cleaner, safer, and healthier environments where people can live, work, and play.

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Great American Cleanup 2024 Report

In 2025, Keep America Beautiful affiliates and participating organizations across the country joined together to clean and beautify their communities, removing more than 8.1 million pounds of litter and debris; cleaning and improving 168,000 acres of parks, public lands, playgrounds, and trails; planting 2,000 trees and more than 70,000 thousand plants, flowers, shrubs, and bulbs; and much more! Explore the full extent of the Great American Cleanup impact in the report below. Download and read today!

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Great American Cleanup Events Include:

Litter and debris removal from roadsides, highways, shorelines, and waterways.
Clean and restore nature trails, recreations areas, and playgrounds.
Educate communities about waste reduction and recycling.
Plant trees, flowers, and gardens.
Rebuild public spaces in communities impacted by natural disasters.

Join us in creating cleaner and greener neighborhoods across America by supporting our work at Keep America Beautiful. Your contribution helps us plant trees, organize community cleanups, and inspire environmental stewardship nationwide. Click below to donate and be a part of the movement towards a more sustainable and vibrant future!

Looking for more information about the Great American Cleanup? Contact us!

Support our work

The 2025 Great American Cleanup report

8.1 million

Pounds of litter and debris removed

168,000

Acres cleaned and improved

70,000

Plants, flowers, shrubs and bulbs planted

Three ways in

Volunteers in life vests and work gloves cheer with raised arms beside a flat-bottomed boat heaped with bagged trash, a rusted metal frame, barrels and scrap pulled from a lake, a wooded shoreline behind them.

Join an event near you

Local affiliates run organized cleanups all spring. Find one close by and turn up — registered volunteers get a free cleanup kit while supplies last.

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Run your own

No event nearby, or the timing doesn't fit? Clean your own block, on your own schedule. Registered volunteers receive a cleanup kit while supplies last — litter picker, gloves, liners, scale and a reflective vest.

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Two Keep Hattiesburg Beautiful volunteers in hi-vis vests and sunglasses stand arm in arm at a playground, leaning on rakes, with children playing on the climbing frame behind them.

Find your affiliate

700 local Keep America Beautiful affiliates organize the work year-round, not just in spring. Yours is the fastest route to something happening near you.

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News & Events

KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL TO CELEBRATE 25TH ANNUAL GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP MARCH 20 -JUNE 21, 2023

March 14, 2023 · McCall Vrydaghs

Keep America Beautiful®, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit, launches the 25th annual Great American Cleanup®.

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YEAR IN REVIEW: 2022 BRINGS NEW LEADER, PRE-PANDEMIC RESULTS, AND TRI-SECTOR EVENT AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER FOR KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL®

December 20, 2022 · McCall Vrydaghs

STAMFORD, Conn. (December 20, 2022) – As the year ends, Keep America Beautiful® reflects on the major milestones and achievements that helped in the mission to clean, green, and beautify America in 2022. Founded in 1953, Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization and has continued to transform communities across the country for almost 70 years. The Great American Cleanup® (GAC) was held March 21 to June 22, engaging the Keep America Beautiful (KAB) network of 700 affiliates and KAB partner organizations to beautify communities across the nation. GAC 2022 saw a news reach of two billion impressions in earned media, with national media interviews on The Weather Channel and Fox Weather Channel and articles in major publications including the LA Times. In 2022, GAC delivered: – 11,191 Events– 208,379 Volunteers and Participants – 14,056,280 Pounds of Litter and Debris Collected – 2,449,669 Pounds of Items Recycled – 29,979 Acres of Parks, Public Lands, Playgrounds, and Trails Cleaned & Improved – 29,358 Miles of Streets, Roads, and Highways Cleaned, Improved or Beautified – 702,451 Plants, Shrubs, Flowers, and Bulbs Planted – 8,465 Trees Planted – $39,796,901 in Benefit to Communities – 2,500 Free Litter Removal Kits […]

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KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL ANNOUNCES FINAL RESULTS OF THE 2022 GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP

November 16, 2022 · McCall Vrydaghs

STAMFORD, Conn. (November 16, 2022) – Keep America Beautiful®, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, announces the final results of the 24th annual Great American Cleanup® (GAC). Over 200,000 volunteers and participants took part in over 11,000 events during the three months of GAC. Taking place annually each spring, GAC engages the Keep America Beautiful (KAB) network of 700 affiliates and KAB partner organizations to beautify communities across the nation. Activities include removing litter and debris from roadsides, highways, shorelines, and waterways; planting trees, flowers, and gardens; and cleaning and restoring nature trails, recreation areas, and playgrounds.The 2022 Great America Cleanup was officially held from March 21 to June 22: 11,191 Events 208,379 Volunteers and Participants 904,069 Volunteer Hours 14,056,280 Pounds of Litter and Debris Collected 2,449,669 Pounds of Items Recycled 29,979 Acres of Parks, Public Lands, Playgrounds, and Trails Cleaned & Improved 29,358 Miles of Streets, Roads, and Highways Cleaned, Improved or Beautified 702,451 Plants, Shrubs, Flowers, and Bulbs Planted 8,465 Trees Planted $39,796,901 in Benefit to Communities Highlights of the 2022 Great American Cleanup include: News reach of 2 billion in earned media National media interviews on The Weather Channel and Fox Weather Channel News articles featuring […]

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