Keep Lake Beautiful announces community cleanup event in Leesburg

Keep Lake Beautiful, a volunteer organization whose mission is “To beautify Lake County by engaging our community,” is inviting volunteers to a cleanup event in Leesburg on Saturday, Feb. 20 from 9-11 a.m. Participants are asked to meet at the Whitney Baptist Church at 32630 N. Whitney Road, Leesburg.

Residents attending the event are encouraged to clean up their homes and yards, and bring excess trash, tires and bulk items to the church parking lot for proper disposal. Lake County’s Household Hazardous Waste Mobile Unit will also be on site to accept household hazardous waste such as lawn and gardening materials, pool chemicals, paint, cleaning solutions, motor oil and used gas, batteries, fluorescent lamps, light bulbs and small propane tanks.

Volunteers will also have an opportunity to pick up litter in the right-of-way along designated corridors in the area as part of the cleanup effort. Keep Lake Beautiful and its sponsors, Progressive Waste Solutions and the Whitney Baptist Church, will provide volunteers with gloves, safety vests, trash bags and water. Participants are encouraged to wear proper attire, and bring sunscreen and insect repellent. Volunteers must be 16 years or older, or accompanied by an adult, and can sign up online at www.lakecountyfl.gov/KLB.

Keep Lake Beautiful (KLB) is an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s leading nonprofit agency that focuses on building and maintaining vibrant communities. KLB received the 2015 Keep America Beautiful President Circle Award recognition at the recent National Conference in Orlando. The President’s Circle Award recognizes exemplary performance made by certified affiliates of the national nonprofit in creating clean, green and beautiful communities. In qualifying for a President’s Circle Award, KLB met Keep America Beautiful’s standards of merit by conducting an annual Community Appearance Index, calculating the affiliate’s cost/benefit ratio, and administering activities in the areas of litter prevention, recycling and waste reduction, and beautification and community greening. For more information on KLB, call 352-343-9639 or visit www.lakecountyfl.gov/KLB.