CHARLESTON, WV – Applications are now available for the 2022 West Virginia Make It Shine Spring Statewide Cleanup. The annual event is sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (WVDEP) Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan (REAP).

This year’s event will be held during the first two weeks of April (April 2nd through April 16th) and applications are due March 11th.

The Make It Shine program will provide resources such as cleanup materials, waste hauling, and landfill fees to community groups volunteering to conduct litter cleanups in state streams or on public lands.

The WVDEP encourages all volunteers to wear a mask and stay socially distant during their cleanups in order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

More than 4,800 volunteers from nearly 170 groups participated in the 2021 statewide spring cleanup, removing just over 754,000 pounds of litter, and collecting 1,850 tires from 737 acres of public lands and 46 miles of streams, while remediating 144 dumps.

The online application is available here: https://apps.dep.wv.gov/ppod/make_it_shine.a5w. Once your project is approved, REAP staff will coordinate delivery of cleanup supplies and waste hauling and disposal. For more information, contact Chris Cartwright at DEPwvmis@wv.gov or by phone at 1-800-322-5530.

This event is completely dependent on volunteers, so sign up today and help make West Virginia shine!

REAP, whose motto is ‘Keeping WV Clean and Green,’ was created in 2005 and strives to clean up West Virginia and rid the state of litter. The program empowers citizens to take ownership of their communities by providing technical, financial, and resource assistance in cleanup and recycling efforts. More information is available on the REAP webpage: https://dep.wv.gov/environmental-advocate/reap/Pages/default.aspx