Love PDX: Small Actions, Big Love for the Places We Share
- Jul 24
- 3 min read
Updated: 23 hours ago
Portland is a city built on community. From the Rose Garden in Washington Park and the Lan Su Chinese Garden to the Portland Saturday Market, Willamette River festivals, cycling culture, and the neighborhoods that give our city its unique character, our shared spaces are part of what makes Portland special.
That’s why SOLVE is launching Love PDX℠, a new environmental and community improvement campaign celebrating the places we love and inspiring everyone to take action to care for them.
Launching August 6, Love PDX℠ will focus on reducing litter, improving recycling habits, and encouraging everyday actions that help keep Portland clean, vibrant, and welcoming. The campaign will continue through Earth Month 2027, bringing together community cleanups, sustainability education, and opportunities for people across the city to make a difference.
Because showing love for Portland isn’t just about the places we visit, it’s about how we care for the places we share.
Part of a Movement to Love Our Shared Spaces
Love PDX℠ is part of Keep America Beautiful’s national Love Your Happy Place℠ campaign, inspiring communities to care for the places they love through recycling education, community cleanups, and shared pride in local spaces.
Across the country, similar Love campaigns are bringing communities together in cities like San Diego, Oakland, Austin, and Denver, with additional campaigns launching in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Dallas, New Orleans, and Phoenix. Now, Portland is joining this growing movement with a campaign focused on the places, traditions, and experiences that make our city special.
From iconic destinations to everyday neighborhood gathering spaces, Love PDX℠ celebrates what makes Portland home while encouraging everyone to take action to protect it.
Caring for Portland Takes All of Us
Creating cleaner communities is a shared effort. Residents, nonprofits, local organizations, businesses, and community partners all have a role to play in reducing waste and protecting the places we love.
Through community grants supported by Niagara Cares, Love PDX℠ helps bring recycling education, cleanup opportunities, and everyday actions to more people across Portland. By working together, from making more informed choices at home to volunteering in our neighborhoods, we can prevent waste, reduce litter, and create lasting change.
Small actions add up, and when a whole community joins in, we can make a meaningful difference.
Join Us at Pick It Up Portland!
\Love PDX℠ launches on August 6 with Pick It Up Portland!, a citywide cleanup event bringing volunteers together to celebrate Portland pride and take action for the places we share.
Volunteers will gather at five different locations across the city to remove litter, connect with neighbors, and help care for some of Portland’s most loved spaces. Cleanup supplies will be provided, and everyone is invited to join, whether you’ve participated in SOLVE events for years or are getting involved for the first time.
From Southeast Portland/Central Eastside, Cathedral Park, Holladay Park, Downtown Portland, to Sellwood Riverfront Park, we can show what it means to love Portland.
Learn more about Pick It Up Portland! and join us at the location most convenient for you!
Recycling in Portland: Small Choices Make a Difference
Recycling correctly is one simple way we can all help reduce waste and keep valuable materials in use.
Did you know?
♻️ Portland’s recycling rate is 44%, above the national average of 32%.
🍕 Pizza boxes belong in your green compost bin, even if they have a little grease or cheese left behind.
🥤 Beverage bottles can be recycled. Just remember to put the lid back on before placing them in your blue recycling bin.
🚫 Plastic clamshell takeout containers are one of the biggest contaminants in Portland’s recycling stream and belong in the trash.
