On April 23rd, Muscle Powered volunteers assisted the Carson City Parks and Recreation Department and the Chamber of Commerce with a Community Cleanup. There were three cleanup locations around town, and I attended the event that staged at Fremont Elementary School, cleaning up along the Linear Multi-Use Path. Many people showed up in spite of the rain to lend a hand at keeping our community clean.
A good turnout!
Once we were briefed on our mission, it didn’t take long to spot litter. Almost all the litter we found was near the road and adjacent to the playground of the school. There was plenty of trash along the banks, but much of it was located in the ditch itself. Thankfully, a few brave people waded out into the water and reeds to retrieve the trash the rest of us couldn’t reach.
Trash in the Linear Path ditch
When you do an event like this, it gives you a pretty good picture of what people are discarding, and what the big problems are. I picked up a lot of empty disposable water bottles. Half of the trash I picked up on Saturday would not have been there if people would simply use reusable water bottles, which in my opinion are way more convenient anyway.
Volunteers hard at work
With all the volunteers we had, we made quick work of our project, and helped restore the ditch to a pristine looking condition! Big change comes from lots of people doing little things.
Finishing Up the Cleanup
According to Tillery Williams, one of the event’s coordinators,
The cleanup was an overall success. We ended up attracting roughly 85 volunteers. We had about 15 of us at Del Taco, about 25-30 at the Moffat properties, and over 40 at Fremont. We were able to pick up a great deal of trash in all of the areas. Maybe next year the weather will be a little better! Thanks for helping us spread the word and for volunteering.