McAllen –August 2024 – Keep McAllen Beautiful (KMB) conducted the annual Community Appearance Index on July 31, 2024. The Community Appearance Index is a tool designed by Keep America Beautiful to visually assess the overall appearance of communities. The survey team checked for indications of litter throughout its six districts. A team comprised of community and government representatives conducted the visual analysis using a scoring system ranging from 1-4, with “1” being the least to “4” being the most littered areas. The Litter Index for McAllen rated a 1.1, minimal or no litter, based on the 60 sub-areas of the six single member districts that were scored during the ride-along throughout the city.
The Community Appearance Index is designed to gather data annually and the results are used to develop a local plan to change attitudes and behaviors regarding litter and related community improvement issues. The Index helps determine the local education and litter prevention, beautification, and waste reduction and recycling programs. “We are indeed very pleased with the results as this is reflective of all the dedication our citizens and visitors place in helping keep McAllen clean and also aligns with the Mayor’s new McAllen Shines initiative”, stated Chris Lash, Program Manager. Events such as the Great American Cleanup & Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-off, Project Clean Neighborhoods and Adopt-A-Park are designed to locally help in abating litter and trash accumulations. Ms. Lash reported that through these efforts and with the help of residents and volunteers, last year over 477.55 tons of bulky waste and litter were collected.
Keep McAllen Beautiful is affiliated with Keep Texas Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful, Inc., which is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. Keep McAllen Beautiful encourages all its residents and visitors to take greater responsibility for improving our community's environment. To learn more about KMB, visit www.keepmcallenbeautiful.org.
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