Contributed Photo/Courtesy ADOT
Contributed Article
PHOENIX – Local First Arizona proudly announces the newly redesigned “Keep Arizona Beautiful” specialty license plate. The plate is available for purchase through the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division.
Local First Arizona acquired the Keep Arizona Beautiful charity in 2022 after the program had been dormant. Keep Arizona Beautiful engages community members across the state to keep rural Arizona clean and beautiful with projects including litter collection, recycling programs, illegal dumping prevention, and community beautification.
The specialty license plate helps fund these efforts with $17 of the $25 annual plate fee going to support cleanup and beautification events throughout the state. Since the plate’s inception in 2013, more than 6,300 have been sold, generating more than $427,000 in total funding, according to ADOT MVD. This is the plate’s first redesign.
“Show your pride in Arizona’s unmatched beauty by purchasing a Keep Arizona Beautiful license plate,” Local First Arizona Director of Development Quin Works said. “Your specialty plate fee directly supports programs to keep Arizona’s roadways, rivers, deserts, mountains, and rural communities pristine to ensure everyone can enjoy the clean and beautiful outdoors.”
Drivers can order the new Keep Arizona Beautiful specialty license plate during their next vehicle registration or renewal at AZ MVD NOW, any MVD office, or any authorized third-party provider. It is the first time this particular plate will be offered for motorcycles.
Keep Arizona Beautiful volunteers in March collected 1,000 pounds of trash plus 100 pounds of scrap metal from Queen Creek in the town of Superior.
“We appreciate all the Keep Arizona Beautiful volunteers who give their time to beautifying rural communities and spaces for everyone’s benefit,” Superior Mayor Mila Besich said.
Anyone interested in participating in the next cleanup on May 18 in Payson can learn more at www.keeparizonabeautiful.com.
The Keep Arizona Beautiful program is a part of Keep America Beautiful, whose 700 community-based affiliates work hard every day to clean, green, beautify, and restore our nation. Each year, affiliates organize millions of volunteers; educate hundreds of thousands of students and volunteers; plan thousands of events; and partner with hundreds of local companies and organizations to clean and safeguard our waterways, roadways, and open spaces.
In addition to Keep Arizona Beautiful, Local First Arizona leads multiple programs to protect the environment, promote water and energy efficiency, and reduce climate change. These efforts include:
- The Arizona Green Business Certification, which enables local business owners to strengthen their sustainability practices and promote their efforts through a self-guided certification checklist
- The Green Business Boot Camp, which offers hands-on consultation to local business owners to cut their water, energy waste, and transportation usage by 20% or more and save money each year
- Green Micro-Loans, which provide as much as $25,000 in financing at interest rates as low as 0% to eligible Arizona businesses to implement environmental upgrades
- The Arizona Economic Resource Center, which has secured millions of dollars in grants for local tribes, rural communities, nonprofits, and businesses to install solar, energy efficiency, and other sustainability upgrades
- The Arizona Drinking Water Program, which is deploying hundreds of Source Global hydro panels at no cost to rural and tribal Arizona homes that do not have ready access to clean drinking water
- The Arizona Partnership for Climate-Smart Food Crops, a federally-funded campaign with the University of Arizona to help farmers transition to more water-efficient crops and restaurants, chefs, and grocery stores to incorporate more native ingredients into their dishes and products
About Local First Arizona
Founded in 2003, Local First Arizona is a community and economic development organization working to strengthen local economies. Local First’s areas of focus include developing entrepreneurship, rural and urban community development, racial equity, environmental action, and food access. Local First is the largest local business coalition in the U.S. and advocates for independently owned businesses of all sizes by assisting local owners to compete and collaborate to strengthen Arizona’s economy and build state pride. Visit localfirstaz.com for more information and a directory of Arizona-owned businesses.
