A month-long cleanup effort sponsored by Keep Arkansas Beautiful began Wednesday. Throughout September volunteers will be working to collect trash from Arkansas parks.
Jeff King, deputy director of Arkansas State Parks, said he's excited about the volunteer clean-up work.
“When we have visitors to our state, and to our state parks, to our cities towns and community that support those state parks, we know it’s so instrumental to our guest experience that they have a memorable and litter-free time in the Natural State,” he said.
Colbie Jones, the director of Keep Arkansas Beautiful, said litter creates more problems than just the negative environmental impact.
“It impacts every aspect of our lives,” she said. “It welcomes crime, it deters economic development and it impacts our health.”
Jones and King were joined by other state workers and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who said litter cleanup is important to preserving the state's tourism and quality of life.
“We're not the Natural State for no reason,” she said. “We’re the Natural State because we are one of the most beautiful places anywhere in America.”
The cleanup campaign is in its 54th year, with another event set for Saturday, Sept. 9 at Greers Ferry Lake. Fall cleanup lasts through the beginning of October.
