Celebrating 50 years on May 2 this year

Always the first Saturday in May, Green Up Day was launched in 1970 by Governor Deane Davis. It is an annual statewide event, activating over 22,000 volunteers to get outside and pick up litter from Vermont’s roadsides and waterways. Work includes educating and involving the state’s youth to develop their sense of pride for taking care of the environment they live in, so it becomes a lifelong commitment to our planet. Here are some impressive numbers from the organization’s efforts:

Green Up Day By the Numbers

• Number of volunteers: more than 22,000
• Number of Green Up Day bags distributed: more than 56,000
• Number of tons of trash collected: 200 to 300 tons annually
• Number of tires collected: more than 6,000 annually
• Number of town roads miles to be cleaned on Green Up day: 13,087 (the State cleans our 2,707 miles of Vermont highways)
• Number of towns that have reported illegal dumpsites: 70

For more information, go to www.greenupvermont.org.