Mission:
To engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments.

Background:
Launched in 2005 by Keep America Beautiful — a volunteer-based community action and education organization — Clean Sweep USA is a fun, engaging site providing on- and offline classroom activities and resources for teachers across the country. Funded primarily by the Office Depot Foundation, the site can supplement a middle school environmental education curriculum.

Outstanding Web Features:
On the Clean Sweep Web site students can learn how to protect the environment by engaging with three interactive "comics" — Waste In Place, Litter Prevention, and Beautification. Topics covered include recycling, composting, designing sanitary landfills, reducing waste, and turning trash into energy. Other activities include Energy to Burn, in which children can power a make-believe city with energy generated from garbage waste, and Landfill Lounge, which allows students to piece together their own sanitary landfill. At the Compost Office, students click on tools and compost materials to make nutrient-rich "humus" for gardening. Educators can download classroom lesson plans taken from each Web comic for web-directed research and in-class activities.