ABOVE PHOTO: Keep Philadelphia Beautiful Executive Director Phoebe Coles and Keep America Beautiful President/CEO Matthew McKenna.
On Wednesday, November 30 at Keep America Beautiful’s national conference in New Orleans, local affiliate Keep Philadelphia Beautiful (KPB) received the National Innovation Award for the organization’s nationally recognized waste reduction and recycling efforts in Philadelphia and across the state of Pennsylvania.
The Innovation Awards salute Keep America Beautiful affiliates that have created innovative programs and partnerships to further the mission of the organization. Programs and partnerships focusing on Keep America Beautiful’s three program areas of Beautification, Litter Prevention, and Waste Reduction/Recycling are considered. Before an audience that included KAB affiliates from across the U.S, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful was chosen from amongst 500 KAB affiliates and 25 Pennsylvania affiliates, specifically for the ‘Bags to Blanket’ campaign launched in late-2010.
As part of the organization’s grass roots ‘Bring it Back Philly’ campaign, an effort to educate the public about the ease and availability of recycling the bags at a local retailer, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful introduced ‘Bags to Blankets’ which provided 200 families in need with blankets made from recycled plastic. Over the course of four months, ‘Bags to Blankets’ matched local schools and participating retailers to host bag collection drives and disseminate information to customers. The project worked to reduce waste and increase plastic bag recycling across the state. Keep Philadelphia Beautiful’s current ‘A Bag’s Life’ campaign, running from November 15-December 15, is an extension of the ‘Bring it Back Philly’ effort.
Keep Philadelphia Beautiful continues the tradition of connecting citizens to their environment with innovation and resources. KPB’s areas of focus are litter abatement, waste reduction and community improvement and beatification – armed with proven strategies that educate and engages communities with hands-on stewardship to create a cleaner, greener, safer and ultimately prouder Philadelphia. To learn more about Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, www.keepphiladelphiabeautiful.org.
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