Spring is upon us, and Keep Suffolk Beautiful is launching its greatest “Great American Cleanup” campaign to date. The campaign is designed to encourage people to get outside and volunteer a few hours to help make our City a cleaner, greener place to live, work and play.
The campaign kicks off on St Patrick’s Day, Saturday, March 17th. Individuals, families and organizations are invited to meet at the City Parking Lot behind the Mills E. Godwin Courts building, located at 150 North Main Street, at 10 a.m. and “Teamup to Cleanup” East Washington Street and the surrounding area. Volunteers will receive equipment and a cleanup map. Students can earn volunteer hours for this project.
Then, on Saturday, March 31st, Keep Suffolk Beautiful is hosting a Nansemond River Cleanup for kayakers, canoes and small boats. Meeting and launching at the Constant’s Wharf Park & Marina, located at 110 East Constance Road, at 9 a.m. You must bring your own watercraft, but cleanup equipment will be provided. The goal is to remove as much litter and debris from the wetlands in the downtown section of the river. The cleanup starts at 9 a.m. and finishes at noon. Anybody without a watercraft can also take part by helping to clean-up the surrounding area. Students can earn volunteer hours for this project.
To continue the campaign, on Saturday, April 7th, Keep Suffolk Beautiful will host its Recycling Drive and Tire Amnesty Day at Lowe’s located at 1216 North Main Street from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This drive will include disposal of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW), Tires (diameter 22” or less, without rims), CFL Bulbs, Batteries, Plastic Bags, Electronics, Gently Used Clothing, Document Shredding and much more. The recycling drive is for Suffolk residents only with ID being required for bringing household hazardous waste and tires.
During the “Great American Cleanup”, everyone is encouraged to organize their own cleanup by contacting Suffolk Public Works Litter Control at 757.514.7604. They will provide litter grabbers, gloves, safety vests and bags. Once your cleanup is complete, you inform the Litter Control Office and they will arrange for the bags and any debris to be collected. Wayne Jones, Litter Control Coordinator, says, “It’s a great way to help out the community. Maybe you are a high school student needing community hours, maybe you are a church group wanting to get more involved in your neighborhood, or maybe you walk your dog and want to pick up some litter as you go. Whatever your reason for wanting to help Keep Suffolk Beautiful, we will support you with equipment and collection.”
The “Great American Cleanup” will end on “Clean the Bay Day”, Saturday, June 2nd, where cleanups will be happening all over the City. Registration for the massive “Clean the Bay Day” statewide cleanup, organized by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, has not yet opened, and details to be announced.
With Suffolk’s award-winning National Night Out celebration on the way, these events offer communities a great opportunity to get a jump start on cleanup efforts for the big day. Suffolk’s National Night Out is scheduled for Tuesday, August 7, 2018.
For more information, call 757-514 7604, or email: littercontrol@suffolkva.us.