Keep Georgia Beautiful
“Keep Georgia Beautiful’s mission is to build and sustain community environmental activities and behaviors resulting in a more beautiful Georgia.”
In October 1978, when Governor Georgia Busbee created Georgia Clean and Beautiful (which became Keep Georgia Beautiful in 1998), Georgia became the first state in the nation to tackle the issues of litter prevention and environmental awareness on a statewide basis using the fundamentals of the Keep America Beautiful program. Keep America Beautiful offers a behaviorally-based systematic approach to change attitudes and practices related to solid waste handling.
Housed in the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Keep Georgia Beautiful has a unique organizational structure as a public/private partnership. This structure has enabled Keep Georgia Beautiful to bring together state government agencies, civic groups, business and industry leaders, citizens and educators to involve Georgians directly in the development and implementation of its environmental education programs. It is this combination of public and private partners coupled with the grassroots nature of the program that has made Keep Georgia Beautiful so successful.
Currently, Georgia has 61 local affiliate programs, more than any other state in the nation. In addition to supporting our affiliates, Keep Georgia Beautiful seeks to educate citizens in the three core community development issues identified by KAB: litter prevention, waste minimization, and beautification. Research has repeatedly linked these three issues to the health, safety, and economic vitality of communities. Keep Georgia Beautiful provides the educational training and support necessary for Georgia communities to effectively address these issues. Our programs include statewide training for teachers through the Waste in Place Curriculum, training sessions for local executive directors, board members, and volunteers and annual special events that educate citizens and encourage volunteerism. Keep Georgia Beautiful coordinates two annual events, “Bring One For The Chipper,” (Christmas Tree Recycling Program) and The Great American Cleanup.
For more information, including how to start an affiliate in your community, please visit KeepGeorgiaBeautiful.org.
