INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Keep Indian River Beautiful, Inc. (KIRB) received Keep America Beautiful (KAB) President’s Circle Award during Keep America Beautiful’s 60th anniversary National Conference, which recently took place in Washington, D.C.
The President’s Circle Award recognizes exemplary performance made by certified affiliates of the national nonprofit in building and sustaining vibrant communities.
In qualifying for a President’s Circle Award, KIRB has met KAB’s standards of excellence by conducting an annual Community Appearance Index, calculating the affiliate’s cost/benefit ratio and administering activities in the areas of litter prevention, recycling and waste reduction, and beautification and community greening.
“One of KAB’s most effective tools is the work of our grassroots network of affiliate organizations, which has an impact on millions of Americans each year,” said KAB’s President and CEO Matt McKenna.
“Our affiliates are providing real solutions to local problems caused by litter, graffiti, illegal dumping, and other community blight by engaging volunteers of all ages in its effort to create a vibrant community,” McKenna added.
Community Appearance Index-Litter Index: The KAB Community Appearance Index-Litter Index is a tool used by KAB affiliates to visually assess overall appearance of communities through indicators such as litter, illegal signs, graffiti, abandoned/junk vehicles, and outside storage.
A team of community, business, and government representatives conducted the visual analysis using a scoring system ranging from 1-4, with “1” rated as “no litter” to “4” being “extremely littered.”
Each year, affiliates grade their communities during a drive-by examination of the same areas at the same time of the year. This provides an indication of the success of each community’s anti-littering education and other anti-littering programs.
Cost/Benefit Analysis: This measurement tool enables KAB affiliates to demonstrate their ability to leverage community resources by determining the dollar value returned to the community for every dollar invested by government.
About Keep Indian River Beautiful, Inc. (KIRB)
Our 2012 Accomplishments
Presented litter and recycle education to more than 100 civic and youth groups, clubs, and schools.
In addition to assisting volunteers maintain their year round Adopt-A- Road commitment, KIRB organized and participated in an additional 60 cleanups throughout the county by coordinating volunteers who donated more than 11,100 hours to help rid our beaches and roadways of more than 220,000 pounds of litter.
Continued to maintain Monofilament Recovery Recycling Program (MRRP) with 39 bins available at marinas, docks, beach accesses, and piers.
Expanded the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program by installing 10 additional cigarette butt receptacles a.k.a. “bait tanks” throughout the city.
Started to feature Upcycled Art made by local artists in the Reuse Exchange Center, located in the Indian River Mall, where we took in 3.5 tons of material diverted from our landfill.
About Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB)
KAB is the nation’s leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With a strong national network of 1,200 affiliates and partners including state recycling organizations, we work with millions of volunteers who take action in their communities.
KAB offers programs and engages in public/private partnerships that help create clean, beautiful public places, reduce waste, and increase recycling while educating generations of environmental stewards.
Through our actions, we help create communities that are socially connected, environmentally healthy, and economically sound.
For more information, please visit the website www.kab.org.