Dow volunteers are rallying to improve their local parks, public spaces, waterways, hiking trails, sidewalks and streets by participating in Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup™, the nation’s largest annual community improvement programme.
Dow’s Great American Cleanup activities will include planting flowers with the Edina Chamber of Commerce at Edina City Hall on May 1 at 8:00 am and a park cleanup at Lewis Park on May 14 at 11:30am.
"Because Dow employees work and live in Edina, we are deeply committed to the life and vitality of this community," said Amy Ilstrup, community relations manager, The Dow Chemical Company. "We want to be good corporate citizens, of course, but more importantly we want to continue our efforts to be good neighbors, community partners and environmental stewards."
"Service to the community is the ultimate demonstration that you love where you live," said Matthew McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. "Participating in the Great American Cleanup can become a foundation for uniting friends, family, neighbors and communities in activities that don’t just make your community aesthetically pleasing, but also make it more effective at overcoming challenges."
Dow Water & Process Solutions’ Great American Cleanup activities align to the company’s 2015 Sustainability Goals and are part of a larger national effort that is expected to involve nearly four million volunteers in more than 16,000 communities. During the 2011 campaign, volunteers collected 177 million pounds of litter and debris, much of which was recycled.
More than 290 million plastic bottles and 7.9 million lbs of electronics were collected, volunteers kept 13.4 million lbs of aluminum and steel and 12.1 million pounds of glass out of landfills, and nearly 1 million scrap tires were collected for recycling as well.
"National efforts like the Great American Cleanup are an excellent example of the importance of every individual contribution to keeping our planet healthy," said KAB board member Howard Ungerleider, senior vice president and president, Dow Performance Plastics Division. "Dow is proud to be committed to this effort and proud of our employees who volunteer their time to improve their communities."