Get caught up in a clean up

Everyone enjoys clean, litter–free parks and public places.

It doesn’t take much effort to improve an area by cleaning up pop cans, fast–food wrappers and other litter. Help keep Ohio clean by participating in an organized clean up. For dates, times and locations, check out the events pages.

Litter clean up

Litter is everywhere – on our streets, playgrounds and parks. Some litter lasts a few weeks and some can last for years. Here is the life span of some commonly littered items:

Item Lifespan
orange or banana peel 2-5 weeks
cotton rag 1-5 months
cigarette 1-5 years
plastic bag 5 years
film container 10-20 years
nylon 20-30 years
leather up to 50 years
aluminum 200-500 years
glass bottle 1 million years

Trash spoils everything

Litter can harm the environment in many ways and can even cause serious injury to wildlife. When discarded as litter, materials such as plastic, glass and aluminum cans cause injury to animals or, if ingested, cause starvation or suffocation.

Litter isn’t just unsightly, unhealthy and wasteful, it’s illegal. Litter is a serious offense, punishable by fines of up to $500 and 60 days in jail. Help make Ohio a clean place for everyone to enjoy by reporting the act of littering to your local officials.

keep Ohio Beautiful

Keep Ohio Beautiful is a nonprofit organization empowering Ohio communities to take greater responsibility for improving their environment through litter prevention, beautification and waste reduction. KOB has been a state affiliate in good standing of Keep America Beautiful for 19 years.

Join thousands of volunteers in Ohio for the 2009 Great American Cleanup in April and May. KOB and affiliates are coordinating cleanup and green up events in the Buckeye State. To get involved, click here for a complete list of events