Keep Louisiana Beautiful and Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser are pleased to recognize groups who went above and beyond during Love the Boot Week, Louisiana’s largest litter cleanup and beautification event that took place in all 64 parishes from April 18-26. The award winners were selected based off criteria including amount of litter removed, beautification efforts, and volunteer recruitment.
The 2026 Love the Boot Award Winners include:
Outstanding State Agency: Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) hosted 36 cleanup events involving 768 volunteers and removed 73,727 lbs. of litter from Louisiana roadways
Outstanding Nonprofit/Business: Keep Tiger Town Beautiful
Keep Tiger Town Beautiful, which cleans up Baton Rouge year-round, removed an impressive 16,550 lbs. of litter across six cleanup projects during the week. Additionally, the group spoke with local elementary school students about the importance of putting trash in its proper place.
Outstanding Parish: Livingston Parish & Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office
Livingston Parish and the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s office teamed up to host a drive-through collection event that resulted in the proper disposal of more than 173,000 lbs. of waste, most of which was recycled. Sheriff’s Office litter crews also worked along interstate corridors, removing an additional 78,000 lbs. of litter, including 400 tires.
Outstanding City: Lake Charles / Keep Greater Lake Charles Beautiful
The City of Lake Charles and Keep Greater Lake Charles Beautiful utilized approximately 700 volunteers across 56 cleanups and beautification projects to remove 17,600 lbs. of litter while also supporting recycling initiatives, tree plantings, and beautification projects.
Outstanding University: Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University’s Student Government Association held the largest university service effort during Love the Boot Week, mobilizing approximately 2,000 volunteers who removed 1,200 lbs. of litter across nearly 100 miles of roadways.
Outstanding K-12 School and Outstanding Recycling Group: G.W. Carver High School
Students and volunteers cleaned up 1,825 lbs. of litter in their school’s neighborhood in the New Orleans Ninth Ward. They also sorted 289 recyclable items from the litter they picked up so that it could be diverted from the landfill.
“Love the Boot Week is about more than picking up litter. It’s about pride, stewardship, and leaving our communities better than we found them,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “Behind every bag of litter collected and every beautification project completed are volunteers who care deeply about Louisiana. These organizations and communities mobilized people of all ages to take action, and their efforts are helping put the paradise back in Sportsman’s Paradise.”
During Love the Boot Week, 28,079 individuals volunteered a total of 77,648 hours at over 1,624 events, removing a record 566 tons of litter in all 64 parishes. Diverted from the landfill and recycled were 9,870 plastic bottles and aluminum cans. In addition to litter removal, volunteers focused on community beautification, planting 1,546 trees and 4,231 plants, and refurbishing 396 gardens.
Of the events held during Love the Boot Week, 136 were organized by colleges and universities, 234 by K-12 schools, 75 by individuals and family groups, 96 by businesses, 462 by nonprofit organizations, 20 by places of worship, and 399 by governmental entities
Keep Louisiana Beautiful encourages all Louisianans to Love the Boot year-round. Visit KeepLouisianaBeautiful.org to learn about the organization’s free programs and resources for people of all ages.
Love the Boot Week 2027 is scheduled for April 17-25. Registration will open at LoveTheBoot.org in January 2027. In the meantime, every person in every parish is encouraged to volunteer for Love Our Waterways, a statewide waterway cleanup in September. Clean up litter by boat or along the shorelines.
Love the Boot Week 2026 was made possible with support from Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. Sponsors included Louisiana Blue, Coca-Cola, Cox Communications, New Orleans & Co, The J.M. Smuckers Co, Folgers, Hunt Guillot & Assoc., Energy Transfer, ExxonMobil, JB James Construction, J. Edgar Monroe Foundation, Morris Dewitt, Republic Services, St. Bernard Parish, Visit Jefferson, Keep America Beautiful, RoyOMartin, Acadia Parish, Expand Energy, EMR, Hotel Monteleone New Orleans, SEMS Inc., Stuller Family Foundation, Tangipahoa Parish, Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation, Visit the Northshore, Chevron, Cajun Coast Tourism, Ascension Parish Tourism, Avoyelles Parish Tourism, Baker Donelson, Black Bayou Energy Hub, Fourrier & de Abreu Engineers, LLC, Hoogland’s Landscape, International Paper, Louisiana Lottery Corporation, Northshore Compliance Services, Sabine Parish Tourism, Sharp Industries, St. Martin Parish Tourism, Texas Brine, Unum, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate, AdSource Outdoor, Lamar, iHeart Media, Avoyelles Today and Crawfish App.