“Clean and Litter-free” Leads to Thriving Economies

By: McKenzie McMath Coronel - Keep Arkansas Beautiful Director

With longer days and warmer weather, more Arkansans are stepping outside to enjoy everything our incredible Natural State has to offer. Whether it’s hiking a trail, floating a river or simply sitting on a porch swing, we’re surrounded by the beauty that defines who we are. But too often, we’re also reminded of something less beautiful: litter.

Litter along Arkansas roadways and in public spaces isn’t just an eyesore — it has real consequences for our health and our economy. When communities look neglected, growth slows, driving down property values, discouraging business investment, and even steering away potential residents.

Litter also impacts one of Arkansas’ most powerful economic engines: tourism. Visitors are less likely to explore or return to a place that looks uncared for. That puts our $9.9 billion tourism industry at risk.

But here’s the good news. Clean, litter-free communities do the opposite. They thrive. They attract new families, businesses and visitors. Keep Arkansas Beautiful is leading the charge across the state, fighting litter and supporting communities through beautification and restoration efforts.

Take the small town of Keo in Lonoke County, with a population of just over 200 people. What began as a volunteer-driven community cleanup has sparked transformational growth. Mayor Stephanie White tapped into her citizens' enthusiasm and turned a single cleanup event into a weeklong initiative. As a result, Keo now hosts annual festivals, secured a $114,000 outdoor park grant, and made over $2 million in water infrastructure improvements. Just think – it started with a simple desire to make the community cleaner.

Keep Arkansas Beautiful’s mission is to help create more stories like this across the state.

One of our newest initiatives is the Arkansas Wildflower Program. This is the time of year when wildflowers are planted across Arkansas, adding color to our communities and strengthening local ecosystems. Their vibrant blooms support pollinators like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, which play a crucial role in our top economic driver: agriculture.

Crops that depend on pollination, including many grains and fruits, are worth more than $10 billion annually.

One community that has truly embraced the wildflower program is Little Rock. Keep Little Rock Beautiful worked with KAB and other local partners to create the Pollinator Garden at Allsopp Park. The garden features educational signage about pollinator species and walking paths to make it easy to explore and enjoy. It’s also used as a learning resource for students who want to better understand the local ecosystem.

Allsopp Park is a great example of how communities can use wildflowers to create spaces that serve both people and the planet. Keep Arkansas Beautiful makes it easy to get started by providing free wildflower seeds.

Keeping Arkansas communities clean and litter-free takes all of us. Over the past two years, in 2023 and 2024, more than 44,000 Arkansans volunteered a combined 278,000 hours to help keep Arkansas beautiful. And we could always use more helping hands.

Together, we’ve:

• Removed more than 2,000 tons of litter. But there’s still more to clean up.
• Cleared 3,660 miles of roadway, with many roads still waiting.
• Beautified 3,700 public spaces, and countless parks and playgrounds still need attention.
• Planted nearly 2,000 trees. But there’s always room for more.

Our statewide efforts continue this fall with the Great Arkansas Cleanup. If you didn’t have a chance to participate in the Great American Cleanup this spring, now’s the perfect time to get involved. Rally a few friends, a school group or your neighbors, and visit KeepArkansasBeautiful.com to get started.

“The Natural State” is more than a slogan. It’s who we are. Preserving that identity takes intentional effort. Our economy and our health depend on it.