Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Receives President’s Circle Award for 2012

Top Honor for Keep America Beautiful Affiliates 

(Dalton, GA, March 1, 2013) – Keep Dalton-Whitfield received Keep America Beautiful President’s Circle Award for 2012 during Keep America Beautiful’s 60th anniversary National Conference, which recently took place in Washington, D.C. The President’s Circle Award recognizes exemplary performance made by certified affiliates of the national nonprofit in building and sustaining vibrant communities. This is the third year in a row that KDWB has received this honor.

In qualifying for a President’s Circle Award, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful has met Keep America Beautiful’s standards of excellence 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.

During 2012 Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful held or helped facilitate several events including Christmas Tree Recycling Day, Community Pride Day, Adopt-a-Mile cleanups, educational sessions for children and adults, Compost Awareness Week, Ecumenical Earth Day, and the Conasauga Watershed Cleanup. KDWB also introduced two new events to the community, the Eek-O-Friendly Costume Swap featuring the Green Halloween Gazebo in October, and Community Planting Day in November.

“One of Keep America Beautiful’s most effective tools is the work of our grassroots network of affiliate organizations, which has an impact on millions of Americans each year,” said Keep America Beautiful President and CEO Matt McKenna. “Our affiliates are providing real solutions to local problems caused by litter, graffiti, illegal dumping and other community blight by engaging volunteers of all ages in its effort to create a vibrant community.”

“I want to thank the Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful board members and volunteers for participating in so many activities throughout the year that make our community a beautiful place to live.” said Executive Director of KDWB, Liz Swafford. “There’s still room for us to grow and we’re looking for board members and volunteers to join us and make a positive impact in 2013.” Visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org to register for the KDWB newsletter or call 706-278-5001 to find out how you can participate. 

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc. 
Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With a strong national network of 1,200 affiliates and partners including state recycling organizations, we work with millions of volunteers who take action in their communities. Keep America Beautiful offers programs and engages in public-private partnerships that help create clean, beautiful public places, reduce waste and increase recycling while educating generations of environmental stewards. Through our actions, we help create communities that are socially connected, environmentally healthy and economically sound. For more information, visit www.kab.org.

Live Christmas Tree and Electronics Recycling Event Set for January 5

Annual Treecycling Event Features Electronics Collection For The First Time

(Dalton, GA, December 4, 2012) – Residents are invited to start their new year fresh by recycling their live Christmas tree and dropping off used electronic devices for recycling at the community’s annual “treecycling” event. On Saturday, January 5, 2013 Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful volunteers will be collecting live, natural, undecorated Christmas trees and, for the first time, electronics for recycling. The free collection event will be held from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at The Home Depot parking lot located at 875 Shugart Road in Dalton. 

Christmas trees must be free of ornaments, nails, hooks, wire, tinsel, lights, and other decorations. Only natural, live, real trees will be accepted – no artificial trees please. Trees will be recycled on site into mulch that will be used for beautification projects throughout Whitfield County. 

Used electronics accepted include computers, digital cameras, video cameras, cell phones, gaming systems and components, mp3 players, scanners, and laptops. There is a limit of one television accepted per vehicle. Electronics will be processed by Reworx Recycling, which is part of the Tommy Nobis’ Foundation program NobisWorks.

Please remember to secure your load for cleaner roads. Tie down and put a tarp on items placed in the back of a pick-up truck, trailer, or on the roof of a vehicle.

Those unable to participate the day of the event may use one of the following options to properly dispose of their holiday items.
1.) The City of Dalton Public Works Department will collect Christmas trees from the curb for city residents that have garbage collection service through the city. City residents should call 706-278-7077 to request pick-up. Yard debris is regularly picked up throughout the year every other week.
2.) The four Convenience Centers managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority have drop-off areas for yard debris that is recycled year round. These include the McGaughey Chapel, M.L.King Blvd., Westside, and the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center. 
3.) Electronics are collected for recycling year round at the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center. For hours of operation and directions to any of the four Convenience Centers visit www.DWSWA.org or call 706-277-2545.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful would like to thank the following organizations for making this event possible: Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Reworx Recycling, Whitfield County Public Works Department, and The Home Depot in Dalton. For more details about the event visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or call 706-278-5001.

Community Planting Day on Saturday, November 3

Volunteers are invited to plant fruit trees at the Gaston Community Center in Dalton on Saturday, November 3rd from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The trees will be part of an orchard for the center’s new community garden. This event, sponsored by Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial, is in celebration of Keep America Beautiful’sNational Planting Day. This is a new initiative to plant native plants, trees, and shrubs to enhance biodiversity, and protect wildlife in our area.

Pre-registration for volunteers is requested but not required. Participants should wear close toe shoes, and weather appropriate clothes. Tools and supplies will be provided. Click here to download the event flier and for volunteer pre-registration visitwww.keepdaltonwhitfieldbeautiful.org or call 706-226-6211.

Special thanks to the following event organizers: Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, Dalton Tree Board, City of Dalton, Dalton Parks and Recreation, and the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority.

18th Annual Conasauga Watershed Clean-up

Be a part of the tradition on Saturday, October 27 when you join other volunteers in cleaning up the Conasauga Watershed. Registration opens at 9:00 am at each of the six clean up sites located in Whitfield County and Murray County. Choose a site and enjoy some muddy merriment as you help care for our area’s beautiful streams and river!

This year’s clean-up will take place at six locations:

• 1. Conasauga River at Carlton Petty Road bridge
• 2. Conasauga River at Highway 2 bridge
• 3. Conasauga River at Lower King’s Bridge/Norton Bridge
• 4. Holly Creek, Murray County, on the Chattahoochee National Forest
• 5. Mill Creek tributary in the City of Dalton
• 6. Coahulla Creek at Prater’s Mill

The 18th Annual Conasauga Watershed Clean-up is held in conjunction with Northwest Georgia United Way’s Make A Difference Day and Georgia’s Annual Waterway Clean-Up, Rivers Alive. The first 250 volunteers will receive a free shirt and a hat or reuseable water bottle.

Sturdy shoes or boots, gloves, long pants, and long sleeved shirts are recommended. Hip or chest waders are useful, but are not required. Trash bags and other supplies will be provided.

One of the six most biologically diverse freshwater river systems in the United States, the Conasauga River supports 24 endangered species and a dozen other imperiled species, including the Southern Pigtoe mussel and the Conasauga log perch, a fish found nowhere else in the world.

SPONSORS: Shaw Industries, J&J Industries, Dalton Utilities, Dalton-Whitfield Regional Solid Waste Management Authority (DWRSWMA), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the Conasauga River Alliance (CRA)

COORDINATORS: Carpet & Rug Institute, CRA, Dalton State College, Dalton Utilities, DWRSWMA, Keep Chatsworth-Murray Beautiful, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, Limestone Valley RC & D, TNC, and Murray County Extension

For additional information, please contact John Lugthart at jlugthart@daltonstate.edu, or 706-272-2485.  Click here to download the event flier.

Eek-o-Friendly Costume Swap featuring the Green Halloween Gazebo

(Dalton, GA, September 15, 2012) – Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful invites you to swap your clean, gently-used Halloween costume for one that's new to you at their newest community event, the Eek-o-Friendly Costume Swap featuring the Green Halloween® Gazebo. It will take place on Saturday, October 6 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Gaston Community Center in Dalton. Stop by to "recycle" your costume, and learn new ways to make your Halloween more eco-friendly.

The event area in the gym will be divided into two sections:

• Eek-o-Friendly Costume Swap:
Recycle your clean, gently used Halloween costume from last year and swap it for one that's "new" to you in the spirit of National Costume Swap Day™. Costumes should be in good condition without tears or stains. Accepting family friendly costumes for babies, children, adults, and pets! (A costume to swap is required for admission to this area.)

• Green Halloween Gazebo:
Visit the booths to green your Halloween. Zap energy vampires, choose better treats and treasures, make decor from your recycling bin, dare to adopt a black cat (or dog), and get tips to be more "eek-o-friendly" this fall.

Costume Donations to help stock up the costume swap event are being accepted at Toys In The Attic in Downtown Dalton until Friday, October 5. Drop off full costumes, and miss-matched accessories in the Eek-o-Friendly Costume Swap Donation Box. Please note that this location is for donations only; no swaps will be made at the store. If you take your costumes to Toys In The Attic they will be counted as donations and will NOT qualify you for a swap during the event.

Thank you to the following organization for participating in this new event: - Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Georgia Power, Toys In The Attic, Bradley Wellness Center, Northwest Georgia Humane Society, Dalton State College, and the Dalton Fire Department.

For more event information visit www.keepdaltonwhitfieldbeautiful.org,www.facebook.com/keepdaltonwhitfieldbeautiful, or call 706-278-5001.

Photo: Recycle your costume at the Eek-o-Friendly Costume Swap featuring the Green Halloween® Gazebo on Saturday, October 6 from 10 am to 2 pm at the Gaston Community Center. Costumes for children, adults, and pets are accepted.