Posted on Feb 14, 2023 | News,Press Releases
Keep Louisiana Beautiful Awards 137 Trash Receptacle and Beautification Grants Valued at Over $800,000
BATON ROUGE, La. – Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) is proud to announce the 137 recipients of the 2023 KLB Trash Receptacle and Beautification Grant programs valued at over $800,000. These grants, made possible through the State of Louisiana and the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, are designed to prevent litter and beautify communities across the state.
“We are off to a really good start cleaning up Louisiana, but there is still much work we need to do together. When you invite people over, you clean up your home. So why not do the same thing for Louisiana,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “When I was in Plaquemines Parish, we installed 20 trash cans along the highway. We found about 90% of the trash made it into those trash cans. We feel with the additional receptacles placed around the state, we can get another leg up on making sure we Keep Louisiana Beautiful.”
Through the Trash Receptacle Grant program, KLB will distribute 879 receptacles to 98 organizations in 40 Louisiana parishes. Eligible to apply were Louisiana parishes, municipalities, state agencies, governmental entities, political subdivisions, public universities and colleges, and non-profit organizations.
Recipients of the trash receptacles will perform post-installation litter assessments to compare to their pre-install assessment data. This data will be made available to the public once complete.
“Recent data collected by Keep Louisiana Beautiful shows a reduction of litter by 56% in areas where trash receptacles are properly installed and maintained,” said Susan Russell, KLB Executive Director. “One of our organization’s key initiatives is to help build infrastructure that supports clean, beautiful communities. Funding trash receptacles is one way we do that.”
Through the Beautification Grant program, 39 recipients in 24 parishes have been awarded grants for their community beautification projects. Eligible to apply were Louisiana parishes, municipalities, state agencies, governmental entities, political subdivisions, universities and colleges, and non-profit organizations.
This program, focused on beautification, funded planting projects and welcome signs on public property in highly visible areas such as community entry points, highway corridors and medians, and major roadways and intersections. Plants and trees were required to be at least 25% native to Louisiana. In addition to beautifying public spaces, projects were required to exhibit diverse community support, collaborations between organizations, matching contributions, and benefits to community residents.
“People are less likely to litter in areas that are well maintained and beautiful,” said Russell. “We are excited to support planting projects in Louisiana communities in order to reduce litter and enhance residents’ quality of life.”
About Keep Louisiana Beautiful Keep Louisiana Beautiful is the state’s anti-litter and community improvement organization focused on education, enforcement, awareness, and cleanups. Affiliated with Keep America Beautiful, Keep Louisiana Beautiful’s mission is to promote personal, corporate, and community responsibility for a clean and beautiful Louisiana. Keep Louisiana Beautiful is comprised of a network of 40 affiliates in communities throughout the state. For more information, visit www.keeplouisianabeautiful.org.
