City staff updated the Bellevue City Council on March 18 about the Keep Bellevue Beautiful (KBB) program, reporting expanded volunteer participation, program metrics, and planned events for 2025.

Neighborhood outreach manager Mark Kylan and KBB coordinator Serena Miller told the council the program — launched in 2023 as part of the city’s Safe, Clean and Vibrant City initiative in the 2023–24 budget — focuses on three components: volunteer litter cleanup events, the Adopt A Street volunteer program, and abandoned shopping cart retrieval.

Staff said KBB has held 13 city-organized cleanup events since August 2023, averaging about 36 participants and 20–30 bags removed per event. The Adopt A Street program had 60 groups signed up as of March 2025 (15 businesses, 13 community groups, and 32 individuals/families), collectively covering 48.56 miles of city right-of-way; adopters have reported 381 bags collected so far this year and regular reporting is updated online. Staff also reported the shopping-cart retrieval program has removed and returned 5,788 carts to retailers since April 2023, including 2,838 carts retrieved in 2024 via MyBellevue reports and vendor sweeps. KBB said additional vendor pickups will begin in May 2025.

Council and staff discussed partnerships such as a probation work-crew program that completed supervised cleanups on 35 designated routes in 2024 and corporate volunteer events from Amazon and Visa. Staff said they plan Earth Day outreach, an EarthFest event April 19 at Bellevue Botanical Garden, and two signature city-wide cleanup days on May 17 and Sept. 13.

In public comment before the presentation, volunteer organizer Steve Fantel described his Bellevue Green and Clean group’s experience and suggested program improvements, including greater outreach to adopters, cost-sharing for cart retrieval with businesses, coordinated bag pickup with Parks and Transportation, and pursuing grant opportunities for cigarette-litter prevention. City staff acknowledged several of the suggestions and said staff would continue outreach to adopters and business partners.

The presentation was information-only; no council action was requested at the March 18 meeting.