KTnB recognized the environmental achievements and legacies of people and organizations who work to improve their community’s appearance through public education programs. The event recognized 24 winners from around the state of Tennessee, totaling to $41,000 in grant checks.

Keep Blount Beautiful specializes in elementary school education. In 2009-2010, over 2,100 elementary children were educated on recycling, litter prevention, and proper storm water management practices. Keep Blount Beautiful educates children through Alcoa/Maryville/Blount County Landfill tours and in-school presentations. All programs are free of charge and available to BlountCounty residents, business, and organizations.

Blount County residence’s Great American CleanUp participation increased from 350 in 2009 to 2,475 in 2010! This large increase in volunteers was mainly due to the previous Earth Round Up event, held in April 2009. Thanks to all BlountCounty residents for stepping up to the plate and helping control litter within our county.

Keep Blount Beautiful won the first ever “America Recycles Day of Tennessee” award. BlountCounty’s America Recycles Day event has been a huge success. In the past two years, 5,000 pounds of electronics, 5,900 pounds of paper, 1,150 pounds of clothing, 163 Coats for the Community, 145 eyeglasses, 323 pairs of shoes for Soles4Souls, and more have been recycled and diverted from the local landfill because of this event.

Last, but not least, Keep Blount Beautiful and the Blount County Sheriff’s Office won the “TDOT County Litter Grant Program in Class III” award due to their partnership in working together to keep BlountCounty clean. Keep Blount Beautiful offers a litter hotline (865-681-4809) for residents to report littered areas within the county. They, in turn, contact the Blount County Litter Crew to assist with clean up or send volunteers to the location. It is through this relationship that BlountCounty can actively attack the litter problems in the area.