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Keep Louisiana Beautiful will be presenting “Love the Boot Week” from April 18-24 — the largest litter removal effort in Louisiana, held in conjunction with Earth Day and supported by Gov. John Bel Edwards and Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser. Businesses, government agencies, schools, non-profit organizations, and individual citizens throughout the state are encouraged to plan or participate in community cleanups and beautification events to work collectively toward a cleaner Louisiana.

“Failure is not an option. We need to clean up Louisiana. The Statewide Litter Abatement and Beautification Task Force is looking at this from every angle. We are going to get this done,” Nungesser said. “We are going to have to do a little bit at a time and there is no better time to start than right now with Love the Boot Week. I think when we get the state cleaned up, people will be less likely to litter. It affects not only tourism, but also our own quality of life and businesses.”

Event registration and volunteer sign up is available online at www.lovetheboot.org. Volunteers can search by ZIP code to find events in their area. Events can be registered as either public or private. The first 100 groups who registered their Love the Boot Week events received cleanup kits with shirts and supplies. Currently more than 200 events are registered, representing more than 40 parishes, with more added daily. Love the Boot event planning tools and promotional graphics are available to all online. Everyone is encouraged to share how they #LovetheBoot on social media.

“Sportsman’s Paradise won’t be litter-free overnight, but by coming together during Love the Boot Week, we can begin to tackle the issue and take steps toward achieving a more beautiful Louisiana,” said Susan Russell, executive director of Keep Louisiana Beautiful. “I challenge us to reach 100-percent parish participation. Show how you love the boot and sign up to clean up today.”

Litter is not a new problem for Louisiana’s 64 parishes. For decades, litter has become increasingly detrimental to our communities, leading to a multitude of repercussions such as:

• Blight on natural areas, cities, towns, roadways, and waterways.
• Death of wildlife due to polluted habitats.
• Decline in quality of life in neighborhoods.
• A negative impact on economic development, infrastructure, and tourism.
• Flooding caused by storm drains clogged with litter and debris.

Despite spending over $40 million in litter abatement each year, Louisiana is still experiencing shocking levels of litter statewide.

A news conference and kickoff event is scheduled for Monday, April 18, at 10 a.m. at the Capitol Park Museum in Baton Rouge.

Following the conclusion of Love the Boot Week, Keep Louisiana Beautiful will release an outcomes report summarizing the collective impact of the registered cleanup and beautification events. This report will include the total number of events, volunteers, bags of trash collected, pounds of trash collected, and other relevant statistics.

Love the Boot Week is made possible by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana.

For more information about Love the Boot Week, visit online www.lovetheboot.org or email marketing@keeplouisianabeautiful.org.

Keep Louisiana Beautiful is the state’s anti-liter and community improvement organization, focused on education, enforcement, awareness and cleanups. Affiliated with Keep America Beautiful, Keep Louisiana Beautiful’s mission is to promote personal, corporate, and community responsibility for a clean and beautiful Louisiana.

Keep Louisiana Beautiful is comprised of a network of 39 affiliates in communities throughout the state. For more information, visit online at www.keeplouisianabeautiful.org.