(December 13, 2023) – The Delaware County Office of Sustainability has completed the process of becoming the newest affiliate of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful (KPB)—Keep Delco Beautiful! KPB has a mission of empowering Pennsylvanians to keep our communities clean and beautiful and now through Keep Delco Beautiful, Delco residents can also support this mission through action.

To formalize the affiliation, the Delaware County Office of Sustainability formed an advisory committee, made up of local non-profits and community leaders passionate about beautifying Delaware County. Next, the newly formed Keep Delco Beautiful team conducted KPB’s Community Assessment, which serves to gather data about the community in six categories, including: residents’ attitude about litter and community image, existing litter prevention programs, leaders of community and beautification efforts, existing waste and recycling policies, past and current community revitalization efforts and active volunteer groups. The results of the Community Assessment will be used to guide the development of a local plan for changing attitudes and behaviors regarding litter, recycling, beautification, and related issues.

Delaware County Sustainability and Resilience Manager, and Keep Delco Beautiful affiliate coordinator, Rebecca Yurkovich had this to say about the partnership, “The Delaware County Office of Sustainability is thrilled to join the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful affiliate network. Forming Keep Delco Beautiful not only provides us access to new tools for achieving the County’s Zero Waste goals, as established in Sustain Delco: A Sustainability Plan for Delaware County, but it also formalizes our commitment to working with our community in pursuit of KPB’s vision of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania.”

“Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is grateful to the Delaware County Office of Sustainability and the many individuals who believe in our mission and were instrumental in supporting the adoption of a local KPB affiliate. We hope to complement the existing programs and resources to make it even easier for residents of Delaware County to keep their communities clean and beautiful,” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

The group’s overall strategic plan for the next three years includes bringing together community groups and partners to address litter abatement, waste reduction, and beautification, while also providing education and spreading awareness about environmental stewardship. For additional information about Keep Delco Beautiful, please visit www.delcopa.gov/sustainability or contact Rebecca Yurkovich at yurkovichr@co.delaware.pa.us.

For more information about Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s local affiliates, visit keeppabeautiful.org and choose Affiliate Network. To inquire about starting an affiliate in your area, contact Kylie McCutcheon at kmccutcheon@keeppabeautiful.org or 724-836-4121 x114.

###

About Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s vision is a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Since 1990, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has worked with hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the state to pick up nearly 155 million pounds of trash from Pennsylvania’s roadways, waterways, greenways, vacant lots, forestlands and other community spaces. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s core programming focuses on litter and illegal dump prevention, cleanup, community greening, and proper waste handling and sustainable practices. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful works with many partnering organizations on the state and grassroots level to accomplish our goal of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is the state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. To learn more about Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, visit www.keeppabeautiful.org.

Download the press release