City of Columbus Crews Clean Litter and Debris and Bulk Trash From Roadsides During Annual Spring Concentrated Litter Cleanup
For Immediate Release
May 11, 2015
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Melanie Crabill, 645-0449
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City of Columbus Crews Clean
30 Tons of Litter and Debris and 122.5 Tons of Bulk Trash From Roadsides During
Annual Spring Concentrated Litter Cleanup
Department of Public Service crews cleaned 30 tons of litter and debris, 122.5 tons of bulk items and other trash from roadsides and elsewhere in the public right-of-way during their annual concentrated spring litter that ran from April 20 through yesterday, Sunday,
May 10. Crews cleaned litter and debris at 117 locations citywide.
“I am proud of the all the hard
work by City of Columbus employees to clean our roadsides citywide,” said Mayor
Coleman. “But we need everyone to continue to help Columbus become a
cleaner and greener city by properly disposing of trash and picking up the
litter left by others. When you see litter, pick it up.”
The 122.5 tons of bulk items included building and construction debris, washing machines, pieces of motor vehicles and other bulk items. In addition to the 30 tons of litter and debris and 122.5 tons of bulk items, crews also removed 691 advertising signs from utility poles and
cleaned 164 vehicle tires from the public right-of-way. Between 2008 and 2014, Department of Public Service crews cleaned a total of 285.5 tons of litter from Columbus roadsides during their annual spring concentrated litter cleanups, including 46.5 tons of litter and 28 tons of bulk items during
their 2014 effort.
“Roadways and other public
places are not trash cans,” said Councilmember Shannon Hardin, chair of the
Public Service and Transportation Committee. “In order to have a clean
Columbus, it will take more than just maintenance crews picking litter – we all
have to be conscious of picking up litter when we see it and preventing it in
the first place.”
The city employees who will conduct the intensified litter cleanup are the same employees who serve as Columbus’ Snow Warriors and pothole repair crews. In addition, these employees also sweep streets, cut grass and remove graffiti in the public right-of-way and clean city of Columbus bridge underpasses.
The City of Columbus also attacks litter with its Keep Columbus Beautiful (KCB) program, housed in the Department of Public Service. KCB works with neighborhood, business, church and other groups to clean litter in Columbus between March and November of each
year. The groups are responsible for recruiting volunteers for the cleanups; KCB provides trash bags, gloves, litter grabbers, rakes and other equipment for the cleanups. In 2014, 7,703 volunteers cleaned 151 tons of litter and debris in Columbus. Neighborhood groups who want to
organize cleanups and work with KCB should call 645-3111.
City of Columbus 2015 Concentrated Litter Cleanup Facts
- Every spring, city of Columbus crews conduct concentrated litter cleanups
- This year, the city of Columbus cleanup ran April 19 – May 10
- City of Columbus litter crews are responsible for cleaning the roadsides of 6,387 lane miles of roadway (ODOT is responsible for cleaning litter on
I-70, I-71, I-270 and I-670)
- In 2014, City crews cleaned 5,041 bags of litter equaling 75.61 tons of litter from the public right-of-way, including 46.5 tons of litter during their 2014 annual spring concentrated litter cleanup effort
- Between 2008 and 2014, City crews cleaned:
- 285.5 tons of litter during their annual spring concentrated litter cleanups
- 6,588.39 tons of litter from the public right-of-way (this includes the above figures for their annual spring litter cleanups)
- City of Columbus employees who will conduct this intensified litter cleanup have other duties, including:
- Serving as the city of Columbus’ Snow Warriors
- Patch potholes year round
- Sweep streets from March through November
- Cut grass and clean graffiti in the public right-of-way
- Clean city of Columbus bridge underpasses
- In addition to city crews annual spring concentrated litter cleanup, the City’s Keep Columbus Beautiful program works with business, neighborhood, church and other groups to clean litter and debris in Columbus April through October
- The community groups are responsible for recruiting volunteers; KCB provides trash bags, gloves, litter grabbers, rakes and other equipment
- In 2014, 7,703 volunteers worked with KCB to clean 151 tons of litter in Columbus
- Between 2001 and 2014, 134,216 residents volunteered their time to clean 2,523 tons of litter in Columbus neighborhoods
- Neighborhood groups who want to organize cleanups and work with KCB should call 311 or 645-3111
- For more information on KCB, go online to
www.keepcolumbusbeautiful.org
- KCB is housed in the Columbus Department of Public Service
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