One of my least favorite things about living in the city is the trash scattered all about. Despite regular garbage pick-up and an extra sidewalk clean-up fund in my district, there is always tons of trash tossed around, especially in rainy and windy weather.
Registration is now open for residents who want to volunteer or submit project proposals for Philadelphia’s Fifth Annual Philly Spring Cleanup. Organizations can submit project proposals until March 30.
The cleanup, which is run by the Philadelphia Streets Department, is scheduled for Saturday, April 14. The motto: “Keep Up the Sweep Up” and the goal is to help put a stop to illegal dumping and litter.
The city says the effort has grown each year. In 2011, 250 projects were submitted, and 12,000 people volunteered. Philadelphia officials distributed tens of thousands of trash bags, thousands of brooms, shovels and rakes, and gloves for the task. Also last year 1,240,360 pounds of trash was removed, 149,860 pounds of material was recycled, 1,104 city blocks were cleaned, 7,280 tires were removed, and 28 parks and 17 recreation centers were cleaned.
Personally, my family and I just like to take this day to walk around our neighborhood with a couple of trash bags and pick up debris on our own. We just might steer clear of the condom wrappers – leave that to the folks with industrial gloves.
For information on how to submit a project or volunteer, visit online.
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