Texas Border Business
McAllen –July 2015 – Keep McAllen Beautiful conducted the Community Appearance Index on July 9th. The Community Appearance Index is a tool designed by Keep America Beautiful to visually assess the overall appearance of communities. The survey team checked for indications of litter throughout its six districts. A team comprised of community, business and government representatives conducted the visual analysis using a scoring system ranging from 1-4, with “1” being the best to “4” being the worst littered areas. The Litter Index for McAllen rated a 1, minimal or no litter, based on the 60 sub-areas of the six single member districts that were scored during the ride along throughout the city.
The Community Appearance Index is designed to gather data annually and the results are used to develop a local plan to change attitudes and behaviors regarding litter and related community improvement issues. The Index helps direct the local education and litter prevention, beautification, and waste reduction and recycling programs. “We are indeed very pleased with the results as this is reflective of all the dedication our citizens and visitors place in helping keep McAllen clean” stated Chris Lash, Program Coordinator. Events such as the Great American Cleanup and Project Clean Neighborhoods are designed to locally help in abating litter and trash accumulations. Lash reported that in 2015, KMB through the help of volunteers and citizens has collected over 160 tons of trash and bulky waste.
Keep McAllen Beautiful is affiliated with Keep Texas Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful, Inc., which is the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. Keep McAllen Beautiful encourages all its residents and visitors to to take greater responsibility for improving our community’s environment. To learn more about KMB, visit www.keepmcallenbeautiful.org.
