Citizens will be taking to the streets Saturday morning, picking up litter across the city.
Lakeysucha Bailey, President of Keep Columbus Beautiful, said volunteers will gather in all six wards for a City Wide Cleanup from 8 to 11 a.m.
“We want to pick up as much litter from our streets as we possibly can,” Bailey said. “The object is, if we could get everyone (in America) collectively to pick up only 152 pieces of litter, there would be no litter on the ground until someone litters again.”
Volunteers are encouraged to meet up at hubs in each ward, Bailey said. She hopes more volunteers jump in and start picking up the streets as they see others working, getting as many citizens involved as possible.
While clean up efforts will be ongoing throughout the city, Bailey said the group hopes to hit a few key hot spots, including Apple Street, 22nd Street North, Fifth Street South, Sixth Street North, Leigh Drive and Bluecutt Road, parts of Highway 45 North (especially Lincoln Road), Eighth Avenue North, 11th Avenue South and Seventh Street South.
Mayor Keith Gaskin said events like Saturday’s help to keep the city clean and to raise awareness around the issue. While Columbus is not the only city that struggles with litter, Gaskin said, it is a “constant battle” for the city.
“In some cases, it’s people that are driving and it’s flying out of the back of their truck and things like that,” Gaskin said. “People aren’t taking the necessary measures to make sure they’re not dropping litter on the streets in the city. And in some cases, we see people actually just throwing it out of the window. And I can’t for the life of me understand how people think that’s OK.”
Bailey said education around proper disposal of garbage is important to fix the issue long-term, which is why Keep Columbus Beautiful and Gaskin visited second grade classes throughout the city on Earth Day to teach children to keep their city clean.
“We’re trying to get to younger ages to kind of set them on the right path to get them to understand it’s not OK to throw your trash on the street,” Gaskin said.
Clean up events also help to remind citizens of the environmental issues caused by littering, Gaskin said, like attracting bugs, rodents and other animals into areas of the city where they shouldn’t be.
Bailey said cleaning up the streets may also help the environment in a few other ways.
“If you let a lot of plastics and a lot of rubber seep into the ground, then you have (litter get) into your waterways,” Bailey said. “We want to prevent all of that. We want to dispose of it properly. “When you don’t dispose of those hazardous things properly, it affects the food you grow in those areas, it affects the drinking water and it affects the air that you breathe,” she added. Bailey said the ultimate goal is to create a culture of living in a clean environment in the city, getting everyone in the city invested in keeping Columbus litter-free.
Volunteers should report to their designated meeting location by 8 a.m. Saturday. Ward 1 residents will meet at Townsend Park Pavilion. Ward 2 residents will meet at East Columbus Gym. Ward 3 residents will meet at Sale Elementary School. Ward 4 residents will meet at the Propst Park Main Office. Ward 5 residents will meet at the Sim Scott and Lee Park Pavilion. Ward 6 residents will meet at the Jacqueline DiCicco Skin Care Center.
Volunteers are also encouraged to bring trucks and trailers to help with disposing of trash bags. For more information, contact (662) 205-6419 or [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 26 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
