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Posted: April 8, 2005
Nine-year old Emily Garza was among the 2,803 volunteers who combed Plano’s
creeks, parks, medians and neighborhoods in search of litter and debris,
Saturday, April 2, during the City’s 20th annual spring cleanup.
“I think we did really well,” said Emily, as she threw her sack of trash
onto a growing mountain of trash and garbage in the Bob Woodruff Park
parking lot. “We cleaned around our yard and then walked down to the park
and we found a bunch of things that people had thrown out.”
Emily’s mother, Alice, said participating in the cleanup was a way “to make
us more aware of how just a gum wrapper thrown on the ground can add up if
everyone else decides to do it as well.”
Awareness is definitely a major component of keeping Plano beautiful with
extensive community education and outreach programs through the Keep Plano
Beautiful Commission targeting a reduction in debris, litter and illegal
dumping.
This year, 2,803 volunteers participated in the Great American Cleanup in
Plano, hauling in an amazing 5.1 tons of litter and debris. They joined over
two million persons across our nation in the country’s largest single
cleanup effort.
Volunteers brought in items as small as plastic cups to a refrigerator,
shopping carts and a massive cast iron bathtub, all pulled from waterways.
So amazing are the materials found that the cleanup annually features a
popular contest “Most Unusual Item Found Littered.”
“This year we had almost 100 items turned in for judging, including an
airplane wing from a large remote plane. The winning item was a full-sized
electric keyboard.” said Casey Eckert-Luker, Keep Plano Beautiful Education
Coordinator. “Our volunteers even found a Bank of America debit card that
was still active. We turned it over to the Police.”
A definite hit with the children was Radio Disney, who entertained the
crowds with environmentally focused-games, activities and music at the
appreciation picnic held in Bob Woodruff Park after the city-wide cleanup
event. Another hit was Schimelpfenig Middle School National Junior Honor
Society advisor, Mrs. Mullen, who kissed Molly the Cow, as part of a school
fundraiser competition. A special feature of the Picnic was a thank you to
Skaggs Elementary 5th Grader, Laura Lee, who designed this year’s winning
volunteer t-shirt
Mother Nature seemed to smile on getting a facelift, offering a beautiful
spring day for mascots, including Plano’s “litterbug,” to pose for photos
with participants. Several environmental games helped to entertain as well
as educate as volunteers enjoyed a complimentary luncheon and watched in awe
at the continually growing mountain of trash as items continued to be hauled
in from across the community for disposal by the City’s Environmental Waste
Services team.
While volunteers for the event raised in numbers (2,803 as compared to 2,640
in 2004) the amount of litter collected lowered (5.1 tons as compared to 7.5
tons in 2004). The litter reduction is good news for Plano, demonstrating
that litter education and awareness, coupled with strong municipal
Ordinances on illegal dumping and shopping cart disposal are paying off.
“We were blessed with fantastic weather and generous sponsors,” Ms. Eckert-Luker
advised. “Our sponsors included Trinity Waste Services, OTTO Container
Management, Whole Foods Market, Frito-Lay, Dr. Pepper/Seven-Up, Medical
Center of Plano, Ozarka and Wienerschnitzel.
This year’s Great American Cleanup marked the 20th Anniversary of an
organized spring cleanup in Plano. Beginning as “Operation Clean Sweep,”
targeting the area along what was then a two-lane asphalt “Avenue K”, the
event soon grew in size city-wide and became known as the “GLAD Bag-a-Thon,”
a national event sponsored by GLAD Bags. As the number of volunteers grew,
the headquarters location was moved from Memorial Park to the current Bob
Woodruff Park headquarters location, with the City now a valued participant
in the national “Great American Cleanup,” sponsored annually through Keep
America Beautiful.
The award-winning Keep Plano Beautiful is a City of Plano Commission that
engages individuals to volunteer and take responsibility for enhancing their
community through litter awareness, prevention and community beautification.
It is affiliated with Keep America Beautiful, Inc. and Keep Texas Beautiful,
Inc. For information about on-going volunteer opportunities, contact Keep
Plano Beautiful at 972-769-4130, or visit their website at
www.keepplanobeautiful.org
For photos of the City of Plano’s Great American Cleanup,
click here.
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