Our Impact In Loudoun County

At Keep Loudoun Beautiful, we believe that a healthy environment is essential to the well-being of our community. Since our inception in 1972, we have taken great strides to uphold our mission to maintain a safe, clean, and healthy environment in Loudoun through educational outreach, litter prevention, and cleanups.

We’ve outlined some of our biggest accomplishments, programs, and ways that you can get involved in supporting our cause below. 

Our Impact
We’re proud to say the numbers speak for themselves when it comes to our impact in Loudoun County. We have completed roughly 1,785 Community Cleanups since 1972 and have removed hundreds of tons of litter and debris from our streets, parks, and waterways. Here are some of our notable achievements since 2017:

  • 5,216 Volunteers have come together to support our cause.
  • 4,159 Bags of Trash have been collected and properly disposed of. 
  • 1,430 Bags of Recycling have been collected and properly disposed of. 
  • 889 Tires have been collected and properly disposed of. 
  • 1,024 Miles of roadway, pathway/trail, and waterway have been covered in our cleanup efforts.
  • 15,308 Hours have been spent by volunteers collecting litter to beautify Loudoun County.
  • 80.51 Tons of litter have been collected and reused/repurposed, recycled, or properly disposed of. (Actual and calculated estimates.) 

Volunteer and Support Opportunities
Keep Loudoun Beautiful is a 501c3 non-profit organization. We rely on the support of our volunteers and community partners to carry out our mission. There are many ways to get involved with our organization:

  • Donate directly to help fund our programs and services.
  • Volunteer for one of our upcoming community cleanups.
  • Become an area leader for our organization.
  • Like and follow our social media channels and leave us positive reviews online. These efforts help us get the word out to all of Loudoun County!

Programs and Services

Keep Loudoun Beautiful offers programs and services all intended to support a healthier and cleaner environment in Loudoun County. These include:

Potomac Canoe Cleanups: 
The Potomac River runs alongside Loudoun County making it our responsibility to ensure our waterways are as clean as possible. Starting in 2001, we began organizing annual river cleanups with our volunteers along strategic sections of the Potomac. We’ve removed all sorts of litter and debris including plastics, cans, tires, and much more.  

Cascades Trash Bash: 
Keep Loudoun Beautiful organizes an annual Cascades ‘Trash Bash’ in Sterling, VA. This amazing event dates back to 1989 making it our longest-standing annual event.

We prioritize key roadways, areas behind schools, and heavily polluted floodplain areas with the help of our volunteers. These events typically result in the removal of ~500+ pounds of trash. We also ensure tires and bulk scrap metal are properly disposed of at local facilities where they can be recycled.

Educational Outreach: 
We are proud to partner with schools across Loudoun County for our clean-up initiatives. Additionally, we host an annual video contest for high school students in the area. We hone in on four environmental categories and award prizes to the top 8 students for their participation.

Since 2008, we have also sponsored a special award category for the Loudoun County Public School Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Keep Loudoun Beautiful has a long-standing tradition of promoting young scientists who are interested in environmental awareness and research.

GotSneakers Collection:
One of our newer initiatives at Keep Loudoun Beautiful is our GotSneakers Collection intended to ensure shoes are either donated or properly recycled. Recycling shoes properly is important for several reasons. First and foremost, it helps reduce waste and conserves resources. When shoes are recycled, materials like rubber, leather, and plastic can be reclaimed and repurposed instead of ending up in a landfill. This not only reduces the amount of waste that goes into landfills but also helps reduce the demand for new materials, conserving natural resources in the process.

Since September 2018:

  • 6,536 pairs of shoes have been collected.
  • 4,081 pairs of shoes have been given to a new owner and reused (62%).
  • 2,359 pairs of shoes have been recycled (36%).
  • 96 Pairs of shoes have been properly disposed of in the landfill (1%).

Our Environmental Impact since March 2022:

  • 1,501 pairs of shoes displaced from landfills.
  • 45,030 pounds of carbon dioxide offset.
  • 3,333,757 gallons of water saved.

Please see the events page on our website to see where cleanups are happening that you can volunteer with.

At Keep Loudoun Beautiful, we believe that collaboration is essential to achieve our mission and together, we can make a real impact! If you have questions or would like to learn more about how to get involved, please email us at Alicia@keeploudounbeautiful.org.