20 Tips for Safe, Clean & Healthy Communities | Murray County, GA (2024)

Millions of Americans are celebrating clean, safe, and healthy communities this spring as they volunteer for Keep America Beautiful's Great American Cleanup. Now in its 22nd year, the Great American Cleanup is the nation's largest annual community improvement program. More than 30,000 events are being planned in more than 15,000 communities.

Here are 20 great tips for improving community environments year-round:

• Work with the local civic groups to identify and eliminate eyesores, and beautify the local environment
• Pick up a piece of litter every day
• Keep a litter bag in your car or your recreational vehicle so you dispose of litter properly
• Create a trash fishing contest in your waterway to increase awareness about illegal dumping and littering
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper asking others to respect public lands and keep them clean
• Help your local schools conduct recycling drives and clean-up projects
• Create a beautiful green space by planting trees and shrubs in an area in need of improvement.
• Ask local businesses to adopt-a-spot and take care of it
• Paint and fix up playground equipment
• Organize a paint-out with family and friends and create a community paintbrush mural over a wall of illegal graffiti
• Recycle your old tires
• Report graffiti to your local authorities
• Donate your old computer equipment or dispose of it properly
• Conduct a recycling drive in your neighborhood or your business
• Volunteer to help your employer conduct paper recycling drives at work
• Donate gently used clothes to needy organizations and shelters and identify other items that you can reuse
• Compost yard and food waste and seek advice if you don't know how
• Find out how pollution in storm drain runoff can impact our aquifers and ecosystems and be passionate about doing your part to reduce litter and solid waste
• Ask your local government officials to establish regular community improvement activities and to support and promote volunteer efforts
• Help your library establish an environmental corner that offers books and other educational materials about taking care of the Earth