Keep El Dorado Beautiful schedules annual litter index

Great Arkansas Cleanup starts this month

Keep El Dorado Beautiful has set a date for its litter index survey, and fittingly, the survey will coincide with the Great Arkansas Cleanup, which kicks off this month.

Janis Van Hook, president of KEB, said the litter index survey will be conducted from 10 a.m. until noon on Sept. 18, a week after the Great Arkansas Cleanup gets under way.

Before taking to the streets for the litter index, KEB members will pay a visit to Clean Harbors, whose free household hazardous waste collection service will begin at 8 a.m. the same day.

The Great Arkansas Cleanup (GAC) is an initiative that is held each fall, during which volunteers from across the state help to improve local communities by coordinating cleanup events and removing litter from neighborhoods, parks, roads, shorelines and other public areas in Arkansas.

The 2021 campaign is set for Sept. 11 - Oct. 31.

Though some local GAC events were canceled last year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KABC) reported that 212 cleanups were held throughout the

state.

The events drew 4,157 volunteers, who cleared a total of 153,314 pounds of litter from public areas in Arkansas.

This year, the KABC has set a goal of recruiting 7,000 volunteers for the GAC.

KEB, an affiliate of the KABC and Keep America Beautiful, was one of the local groups who decided not to sign up for the GAC in 2020.

It was the first time since the group was founded in 2012 that it did not participate in the annual fall campaign.

KEB was sidelined for much of 2020 because of the public health crisis.

“I appreciate (the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission) with the Great Arkansas Cleanup. We knew it was (in the fall) but we just felt safer not taking part in it, as far as the whole city being involved,” Van Hook said just prior to the start of the GAC last year.

KEB is taking the same precautions this year amid a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and new variants of the virus.

Van Hook said KEB has not scheduled any community-wide cleanups or other activities that are specific to the GAC this year.

However, she said KEB has offered to assist any local groups or individuals who are interested in organizing cleanup events.

The litter index survey and visit to Clean Harbors fall in line with the goals of the GAC, Van Hook explained.

To conduct the survey, KEB members tour the city, select a few streets that cover a broad section of each ward and score the areas on a scale from one to four, with one being the best and four the worst.

Scores are based on such criteria as litter on the ground, overgrown lots and outside storage, and tallied into a composite.

KEB has not conducted a litter index survey in two years, having canceled last year because of COVID-19 pandemic and in 2019 because of scheduling conflicts and issues with arranging transportation.

Because of the public health crisis in 2020, the KABC and Keep America Beautiful waived the survey for local affiliates, including KEB.

The survey is an annual requirement for KEB to maintain its certification with its state and national parent groups, who advise local affiliates to conduct the survey during the same time each year.

For the past several months, KEB members have discussed relaunching the litter index survey, which is typically conducted in the spring in El Dorado.

The group set a tentative date during a regular meeting earlier this month and confirmed the date late last week.

Van Hook said the city will provide transportation for the survey, as it has done in the past.

Ten people are needed for the ride-along.

“They don’t actually have be active members of KEB. We just need 10 people in the community but I think we already have our 10 people lined up,” she said.

KEB members will kick off the morning with a stop at Clean Harbors to support the free hazardous household waste collection program and spread KEB’s message of engaging the community to build a sustainable cleanup campaign for El Dorado.

Clean Harbors, 309 American Road, offers the drive-up service on the third Saturday from April until September each year.

The service on Sept. 18 will be the last for 2021.

“We’ll probably be out there for an hour or so, handing out (business) cards and telling people about KEB. Then we’re going to do the litter index,” said Van Hook.

Once the scores are of the litter index are tallied, the results will be presented to the El Dorado City Council.

In 2019, KEB used data from the 2018 survey for a new partnership with 35th Judicial District Court as an alternative/community service provider.

The program is available to district court defendants who opt for community service to help pay off fines that are levied for misdemeanor offenses.

KEB and Judge Jack Barker said defendants can work off their fines while helping to keep the city litter-free.

When KEB joined the alternative service program in mid-2019, the group selected some of the areas that were deemed the most problematic in each ward, per the 2018 litter index, and forwarded the list to the city, who manages the program and defendants.

Van Hook said the results from the 2021 survey will also come in handy for a new project the group is looking to launch: sit-down meetings with residents to help identify issues that are specific to each ward in the city.

As for the Great Arkansas Cleanup, KEB is encouraging local groups and individuals to get involved.

Van Hook said several groups who have expressed interest in adopting city streets may be planning cleanups during the GAC.

“We have not scheduled anything, personally. We’re just steadily asking people to help keep the city clean,” Van Hook said.

“It doesn’t even have to be a group thing, just pick up in in your area, in front of your house. If you’ve got an elderly neighbor, offer to mow their yard if they can’t do it. If there’s a vacant lot across the street, commit to keeping it clean,” she continued. “You’d be surprised what a difference little things like that can make.”

Litter, recycling and beautification are all a part of KEB’s mission and Van Hook reminded local residents to deposit recyclable materials at local centers, including the city’s recycling drop-center at 401 Liberty Street, which is located in Van Hook’s St. Louis neighborhood.

The center accepts plastic, cardboard, newspaper print and more and offers a drivethrough service.

“We have a lot of people who are doing those things and they do a great job keeping our city clean. Some people who pick up trash while they’re out for a walk,” Van Hook said. “It’s the ones who are going to litter, no matter what, who create the problems.”

Anyone who is interested in organizing a cleanup for the GAC may contact KEB or the KABC directly to register their events and track volunteer hours with the state and request supplies, including gloves and safety vests.

“We are excited to open registration for the 2021 Great Arkansas Cleanup,” said Mark Camp, executive director of Keep Arkansas Beautiful.

“Every year, we are blown away by the support we receive from volunteers across the state. We want to encourage all Arkansans to help preserve and improve our beautiful communities by hosting or getting involved in a local cleanup,” Camp said.

For more information or to register for the GAC, call Van Hook at 870-918-2706 or visit www.keeparkansasbeautiful.com.