Posted on Apr 18, 2023 | News,Press Releases
More Than 500 Events in 61 Parishes Participating in Love the Boot Week April 17-23
BATON ROUGE, La. – Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) and the Office of the Lieutenant Governor kicked off the 2nd Annual Love the Boot Week in Baton Rouge today. Held from April 17-23 in conjunction with National Volunteer Week and Earth Week, Love the Book Week is Louisiana’s largest litter removal effort. More than 500 cleanup and beautification events organized by businesses, governmental entities, schools, non-profit organizations, and individual citizens will take place across the state in 61 parishes.
“Litter is hurting our Sportsman’s Paradise,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “It hurts our environment, our quality of life, and it negatively impacts economic development. Please join me in cleaning up our communities during Love the Boot Week.”
To date, more than 500 Love the Boot Week events are registered for 2023 – a 79 percent increase from 2022. Estimates show that more than 13,000 volunteers will remove 500 tons of litter by April 23 during this 2nd Annual Love the Boot Week.
“We are blown away by the response to Love the Boot Week and thank everyone who has generously supported this important cause,” said KLB Executive Director Susan Russell. “There is still time to sign up to clean up and help us shed light on Louisiana’s litter problem. We can clean up our state if we all work together to prevent litter from happening in the first place.”
With the launch of this weeklong event, KLB released some key findings from the 2023 Louisiana Litter Study – the first conducted since 2009. Key findings include:
- There are approximately 143.8 million pieces of litter on Louisiana roadways.
- The top three aggregate litter items are cigarette butts (21%), plastic beverage containers (13.8%), followed by plastic fast food items (7.2%).
- The leading litter sources are motorists (53.2%), unsecured loads (17%), and garbage trucks (9.3%).
Keep Louisiana Beautiful will publish the entire 2023 Louisiana Litter Study for the public in May.
“This litter study offers us a starting point for cleaning up Louisiana. We now have the data necessary to move forward and implement lasting changes to keep our state clean and beautiful,” added Lt. Governor Nungesser.
Love the Boot Week event registration and volunteer sign up are available at www.lovetheboot.org. Volunteers can search by zip code to find events in their area. Organizers can register events as either public or private.
Data collection is an important part of Love the Boot Week. Event organizers will report on number of volunteers, volunteer hours, number of trash bags collected, the estimated weight of large items found, and commonly picked up items. An impact report will summarize and recognize participants’ collective efforts.
Sponsors of Love the Boot Week include the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, The Coca-Cola Company, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Lamar Advertising, Cox Communications, The Crawfish App, Alexandria and Pineville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Louisiana Restaurant Association, Texas Brine Company, and Winn-Dixie.
Learn more about Love the Boot Week at www.lovetheboot.org.
Keep Louisiana Beautiful is an anti‐litter and community improvement non-profit organization focused on achieving a clean and beautiful Louisiana through education, enforcement, public awareness, and community engagement. Keep Louisiana Beautiful is affiliated with Keep America Beautiful and is comprised of a statewide network of 40 Community Affiliates and seven University Affiliates. Learn more at www.keeplouisianabeautiful.org.
