Keep America Beautiful and Nestlé Waters North America Partner to Clean Up National Parks During Government Shutdown

STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As national parks face issues with unmanaged waste during the government shutdown, Keep America Beautiful, the largest community improvement organization in the United States, and Nestlé Waters North America, one of the leading beverage companies in North America, announced today that they are teaming up to help mobilize affiliate organizations and volunteers across the country to clean up these shared public spaces.

This national effort will kick off on St. Simons Island in Georgia. The Keep America Beautiful local affiliate, Keep Golden Isles Beautiful in Brunswick, Georgia, has committed, with the help of more than 40 new volunteers added to their existing volunteer pool, to clean up and maintain trash and recycling container service at historic Fort Frederica National Monument and the Bloody Marsh National Monument during the government shutdown.

"The Keep America Beautiful national network of community-based affiliates is committed to ending litter and ensuring our public spaces are beautiful places for all to enjoy," said Randy Hartmann, Senior Director, Affiliate Operations, Keep America Beautiful. "While our volunteers can't totally abate and remove the litter and debris that is amassing at our national parks and public lands during the government shutdown, our affiliates have offered their assistance in the communities they serve to support the parks during this time of need. We thank our partner at Nestlé Waters North America for supporting our efforts to help grow our volunteer base and contain the growing trash and litter at our national parks and public lands."

Other Keep America Beautiful affiliates are actively engaging national parks staff in their areas to provide support for cleanups as future needs arise. Nestlé Waters North America has generously offered resources, through financial donations and employee volunteers, to assist in these efforts.

"At Nestlé Waters North America, we believe that even one bottle or can that is not recycled properly is one too many. When we heard about the need in our national parks, we wanted to help," said John Caturano, Senior Manager of Packaging and Recycling Programs at Nestlé Waters North America. "Caring for our natural environment is fundamental to the work that we do every day, so we are proud to support the great work of Keep America Beautiful, and to help play a part in ensuring these beautiful public places continue to be trash-free and protected."

This initiative is just the latest example of the long-term partnership between Keep America Beautiful and Nestlé Waters to address waste and recycling issues around the country. In 2017, the two organizations, along with other corporate partners, launched an integrated recycling education and awareness initiative for the 10,000 school students affected by the water crisis in Flint, Mich. That same year, in Florida, Nestlé Waters, through its Zephyrhills® Brand, also partnered with Keep America Beautiful to increase access to on-the-go recycling on beaches and at other public recreation locations along Florida's waterways.

About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful, the nation's iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling and Beautify America's Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision.

Behavior change – steeped in education, research and behavioral science – is the cornerstone of Keep America Beautiful. We empower generations of community and environmental stewards with volunteer programs, hands-on experiences, educational curricula, practical advice and other resources. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 600 Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.

About Nestlé Waters North America
Nestlé Waters North America offers an unrivaled portfolio of bottled water brands for healthy hydration, including Poland Spring^® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water, Nestlé^® Pure Life^®, Perrier and S. Pellegrino^®. The company also owns and operates ReadyRefresh^SM by Nestlé^®, a customizable water and beverage delivery service. Just Click and Quench^SM.

Based in Stamford, Connecticut with approximately 8,000 associates located in North America, we are committed to reducing our environmental footprint across our operations. We manage natural resources for long-term sustainability, and we conserve nearly 21,000 acres of natural watershed area. We currently source water for our six regional spring water brands from 47 springs across the U.S. We are also committed to creating shared value and being a good neighbor in the 140 communities where we operate in the U.S. For more information, visit us at www.nestle-watersna.com/en and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: @NestleWatersNA.

SOURCE Nestlé Waters North America