A Dayton volunteer with a litter grabber cleaning a residential street, a police cruiser and neighbors in the background

What we do

The many ways we prevent & fight litter and illegal dumping.

Stop it before it drops, pick up what's already down, and help make Dayton a cleaner city — while Keeping Montgomery County Beautiful.

Fund the next clean-up or illegal dumping site

The history

Meet "Lucky" — the first lady of litter prevention.

The Litterbug campaign began as an Ohio Department of Natural Resources program created in the early 2000s to promote recycling and litter awareness. "Lucky" the Ladybug was created as its official mascot — known as "the first lady of litter prevention." She keeps the same name today, but she's been updated for the 2026 media and marketing awareness campaign.

Keep Montgomery Beautiful, Commissioner Carolyn Rice, Mayor Rhine McLin, and others provided leadership for the campaign during its early years. In 2024, the Westwood Right Project CDC — along with then-Commissioner Shenise Turner-Sloss, Commissioner Darryl Fairchild, Montgomery County Commissioner Carolyn Rice, Liberty High School, and Waste Free Dayton — led a soft relaunch.

Now serving as Mayor in 2026, Shenise Turner-Sloss is committed to improving the quality of life for Dayton residents by working with local grassroots organizations to find solutions to problems that are plaguing our communities. Westwood Right Project CDC is leading the relaunch of the “Don't Be A Litterbug” campaign in partnership with the Dayton Mayor's Office, County Commission Office, residents, community stakeholders, and other non-profit organizations.

Lucky the Ladybug, the Do Not Be A Litterbug mascot, in a red cape with a 'LUCKY' shield
"Lucky" the Ladybug — the first lady of litter prevention.

The many ways we work

Prevent, fight litter and illegal dumping.

Stop it before it drops, pick up what's already down, and help make Dayton a cleaner city while Keeping Montgomery County Beautiful.

Four Liberty High School student volunteers standing together at a clean-up

Prevention & Education

The cheapest litter to clean up is the piece that never gets dropped. We build civic habits early and equip partners to keep their own spaces clean.

  • Civic engagement, leadership & partnership — focused on youth (elementary, high school & college)
  • Partnership facilitation
  • Environmental stewardship training
  • Lucky the mascot helps educate preschool & elementary groups about "Don't Be A Litterbug"
Neighbors gathered under a tent at a Do Not Be A Litterbug community event

Community Events

Litter drives bring thousands of Daytonians outside — and every event ends with a community or neighborhood that looks better than we found it. Bringing beauty to the community.

  • Dayton Street Pride Days & block pride days
  • Community educational forums
  • Community Investment Excursions
A grapple truck loading bagged debris hauled from an illegal dump site

Clean-Ups, Illegal Dumping & Beautification

Bringing city, county leadership and grassroots groups together to increase understanding of the breadth, depth, and impact of local environmental and public-health issues caused by litter contamination and illegal dumping.

  • Weekly, year-round clean-ups — sign up as an individual or with an organization, business or church. You pick your team, your day, and your time; we assign your area. Sign up here →
  • April is Clean Montgomery County Month
  • Adopt block or lot for an organization, business or church
  • Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) improvements — installing lights, fencing, signage and removing graffiti
  • Mural installations
  • Clean/Green program for blighted vacant lots

Pick a day for your clean-up →

Our impact

A clean environment is a healthier community.

The environment has a tremendous impact on our health. A strong connection to clean, healthy nature can restore and even improve mental well-being. Research shows that cleaner communities — greening vacant lots and planting trees, grass, and flowers — improve not only mental health but reduce violence (source). We're addressing urban decay by reducing litter and illegal dumping while improving the overall neighborhood's health and vitality.

A vacant Dayton lot piled with illegally dumped trash before a clean-up
Before — Westwood Right Project clean-up
The same style of lot cleared and greening back up after a clean-up
After — cleared, greened, and given back to the block

The work, in pictures

From our neighborhoods.

Before & after, boots on the ground, and the loads we haul out — real clean-ups across Dayton and Montgomery County.

Two volunteers in gloves bagging litter from a brushy Dayton lot
Boots on the ground — a brushy lot cleared by hand
Before — litter along the fenceline
Before — litter along the fenceline
Before — a neglected right-of-way
Before — a neglected right-of-way
Before — an illegal dump site
Before — an illegal dump site
Before — dumped tires, tarps & trash
Before — dumped tires, tarps & trash
Before — an overgrown, littered lot
Before — an overgrown, littered lot
Before — a hard-hit dumping ground
Before — a hard-hit dumping ground
Before — trash strewn across a vacant lot
Before — trash strewn across a vacant lot
After — cleared and reclaimed
After — cleared and reclaimed
After — a lot given back to the block
After — a lot given back to the block
After — cleaned to the tree line
After — cleaned to the tree line
After — a clean, open lot
After — a clean, open lot
After — bare, clean ground
After — bare, clean ground
After — cleared and greening back up
After — cleared and greening back up
After — a lot the neighborhood can use
After — a lot the neighborhood can use
After — a cleaner curb on the block
After — a cleaner curb on the block
City of Dayton hauls out the load
City of Dayton hauls out the load
Heavy equipment clears bulk debris
Heavy equipment clears bulk debris
Tires and bulk waste, loaded out
Tires and bulk waste, loaded out
A loader scoops out an illegal dump
A loader scoops out an illegal dump
An excavator clears years of dumping
An excavator clears years of dumping
Bagged, sorted and ready to haul
Bagged, sorted and ready to haul
Furniture and junk pulled from a lot
Furniture and junk pulled from a lot
A truck bed full of full bags
A truck bed full of full bags
Community event under the tent
Community event under the tent
Sign-ups and outreach on site
Sign-ups and outreach on site
The relaunch draws a crowd
The relaunch draws a crowd
Neighbors arriving for the clean-up
Neighbors arriving for the clean-up
Community forum & fellowship
Community forum & fellowship
Gloves, bags & tools — supplied
Gloves, bags & tools — supplied
Crew briefing before the sweep
Crew briefing before the sweep
Loading up for the day's work
Loading up for the day's work
Working a lot back to bare ground
Working a lot back to bare ground
Volunteers after a neighborhood clean-up
Volunteers after a neighborhood clean-up

Hover or tap any photo for its caption. Event and organization names are our best labels — tell us any we should correct.