Don’t Mess With Texas Trash-Off In Whitehouse
Additional Information
Fed up with roadside litter and fired up to do something about it, hundreds of volunteers will fan out across Whitehouse on April 2 to participate in the state’s largest one-day cleanup.The Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off is a partnershipbetween Keep Texas Beautiful and the Texas Department of Transportation and it is held during the Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup.
Organizations, businesses, citizens and children are invited to join Keep Whitehouse Beautiful (KWB) at Whitehouse CityPark, located at309 East Main Street (FM Road 346),between 8 and 9 a.m. to get registered to volunteer. Participants may bring a team or join one there and will be assigned a road in the Whitehouse area to clean up. Teams that have pre-registered include Southside Bank, Brookshire’s Whitehouse, Tri County Leader, Residence Inn, Whitehouse Chamber of Commerce, Whitehouse High School First Ladies Drill Team, Whitehouse High School Honor Society, Whitehouse High School football players, Walnut Grove United Methodist Church, Mount Carmel Baptist Church, Whitehouse United Methodist Church, Boy Scout Troup 248, Cub Scout Pack 359-Den 8, Stanton Smith Elementary Student Council, Brown Elementary Student Council, Yarborough Lane neighbors and the Richland Hills neighborhood.
The first 325 people who sign up will get a free t-shirt and trash bags will be provided. Refreshments will be available, and volunteers will be entered into a drawing for a Toro backpack leaf blower, a Toro four-cycle trimmer, a compost bin and recycle bins. Those who come are encouraged to wear long pants, close-toed shoes and hats. They also may want to bring gloves, sunscreen and bug repellant. After the litter has been tackled, helping hands will be treated to free CiCi’s Pizza and other foods.
“Last year we had more than 300 people and we are expecting a great turnout again from our community,” said Debbie Shafer, KWB President. “These volunteers make all the difference in the world. It's not only the fact that they are picking up litter that day. They're also making everyone who is driving by aware of litter. Trash doesn’t just ‘go away.’ Someone has to pick it up--so don’t throw it out in the first place.”
Local sponsors of the 2011 Keep Whitehouse Beautiful Don’t Mess With Texas Trash Off include: Southside Bank;EOG Resources;City of Whitehouse; David R. Shafer, M.D.; Austin Bank;Allied Waste- a Republic Services Company; TAABS Printing and Promotional Products, Wildcat Self Storage; Brookshire’s and Victoria Station.
The National Sponsors of the 2011 Great American Cleanup are:Pepsi-Cola Company; Waste Management, Inc.; Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company;The Dow Chemical Company; Nestlé® Pure Life® Purified Water; Lowes; Troy-Bilt® Lawn and Garden Equipment; The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company; The Glad Products Company; and the Solo Cup Company.
2011 Trash-Off Goals: Quick Facts
Texans are encouraged to exceed last year’s Trash-Off numbers.
• Statewide volunteers: 74,100 (More than 300 in Whitehouse)
• Pounds of trash collected statewide in 2010: eight million(7,020 pounds in Whitehouse)
• Number of miles cleaned statewide in 2010: 6,219 (43.25 miles in Whitehouse)
This year, Don’t Mess with Texas celebrates its 25th anniversary. Volunteers are encouraged to share their favoriteTexas images from the Trash-Off or from any time of the year at http://dontmesswithtexas.org/programs/photo-album/.
About Don’t Mess with Texas
Don’t Mess with Texas has been educating Texans about litter prevention since 1986. TxDOT’s litter prevention programincludes Adopt-a-Highway and a grassroots partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful. Don’t Mess with Texas activitiesalso include a spring “Trash-Off,” community outreach, a scholarship, a corporate partner program, and a photo albumwhere Texans can share their iconic Texas images. For more information, visit www.DontMessWithTexas.org.
For more information or to pre-register your team, please email info@keepwhitehousebeautiful.com
or visit www.KeepWhitehouseBeautiful.com.Search for Keep Whitehouse Beautiful on Facebook and become a fan.