KSB Litter Lifters

What is a Litter Lifter?

Litter Lifters are those citizens who volunteer to remove litter from our roadsides. Upon reflection, it may seem a small matter compared to personal issues or the national and global picture. Or it might just go unnoticed. However, the absence of litter on our roads is meaningful. It shows we care and take pride in this place. We believe visitors are more likely to return to a clean environment.

Keep Sedona Beautiful currently manages over 100 volunteer Litter Lifters, covering over 60 miles of roadway. A significant number have served the community for many years and in a few cases, over 20 years.

Because we favor less sign clutter on our roadways, you may not know that KSB Litter Lifters cover the entire length of SR 179, including, as you know, some very challenging segments. Only a single sign at each end identifies Keep Sedona Beautiful as the official Adopt-A-Highway permittee.

Our dedicated KSB Litter Lifters need everyone's help. In fact, we currently need a few good folks to help on a regular or temporary basis. We provide all the tools; you get all the good feelings from a worthy contribution to our community. By the way, when you see a Litter Lifter, give a honk and wave to those tenacious folks wearing the bright orange vests, true heroes among us.

Call KSB at (928) 282-4938 or email at KSB@esedona.net for more information on how you can get involved.

Keep Sedona Beautiful’s Award Winning Litter Lifters

Over the years, KSB has been honored for their work. The most recent major award was received in 2005 when top environmental honors in Arizona were awarded to Sedona’s own Keep Sedona Beautiful Litter Lifters, the prestigious Governor’s Pride Award.

The award was created in 1990 through the vision of Arizona Clean and Beautiful and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Designed to recognize those who have demonstrated a true commitment to Arizona’s quality of life through the development of innovative, sustainable programs, it is the only statewide environmental award event.

As part of the Arizona Yavapai County Adopt a Highway program, the corps of approximately 100 Litter Lifter volunteers was honored for their extraordinary vigilance in removing trash from more than 60 miles of roads in the Sedona area. In addition, Keep Sedona Beautiful fosters educational programs and a children’s poster contest through the schools. Most any day, bold signs along the roadsides announce “Keep Sedona Beautiful Litter Lifters Ahead”.

Barbara Zeschke

Rolling into Sedona from Chicago 25 years ago, Barbara’s been a seasoned volunteer in the public interest. Together, with a girl friend they started the first recycling center on the south side of Chicago in conjunction with the school where Barbara’s husband taught.

In Sedona, she hoped for some relaxation and maybe endless hours plowing through a pile of novels. Poof went that dream; before long, she became involved in the annual cleanup between Sedona and Cottonwood. Back then it was a quiet two-lane road, not the fast four-lane it has become. During the day she was approached by the late Bud Flynn, President of KSB, and they got to talking, or rather he got to talking. Keep Sedona Beautiful was losing their office manager and he asked her to take that job. She said as politely as she could, No--for two reasons, no. "First, I won't and don't do secretarial work. Secondly, there is no way I'll get up for 8 AM meetings."

KSB Litter Lifter Awards

1994 Sedona Sunrise Kiwanis
1995 ADOT- Flagstaff District
1995 KSB Special Recognition
1996 Norman McGee Award
1997 Arizona Governor's Pride Award
1999 Soroptimist International Award-Woman of Distinction
1999 Red Rock News--- Citizen of the year
2002 ADOT multi-state award
2005 Arizona Governor's Pride Award

Shortly thereafter, the woman who'd been supervising Litter Lifters had to leave for California to be with a sick friend. Would Barbara be interested? After some waffling and bobbing and weaving, she agreed. The next thing Barbara knew, she was handed a 3 by 5 inch card box with maybe 35 names in it. That was it. "So that's how I started," she recalled the other day. On her watch, she enlarged the route. Along the way she created the profile of the typical Litter Lifter: someone with great love for Sedona's beauty, relatively physically fit, and extremely dedicated and responsible. Each Litter Lifter must sign an ADOT waiver if they work on Highway 89A or SR 179; once on the KSB roster, they are covered by KSB insurance.

A senior member of the Arizona Clean and Green Coalition estimated the value of KSB's Litter Lifters (the amount saved for the taxpayer in the Greater Sedona area) at approximately $400,000 a year. And that was back in 1997. Just imagine what it would add up to today. I'd take her word for it. "At least twice that today, wouldn't you say?" Barbara speculated.

Her favorite story? That's easy. A brand new Litter Lifter called Barbara excitedly on his first clean-up day to report that he'd found $7.

Before major surgery in 2006, she consolidated her records, contacted the 100-130 or so people on the roster so they wouldn't be alarmed, and gave that roster to Bill Pumphrey, who's been a Litter Lifter since he came to town. "We are in a transitional period. He is a good one, didn't want to hand it over to just anybody, you know."

> Litter Prevention

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Keep Sedona Beautiful promotes conservation of the greater Sedona area, and, by all practical means, seeks to preserve the unique natural environment and to enhance the quality of life for future generations.

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