According to a news release from the City of Victorville Community Services Department, community volunteers collected 8.72 tons of litter and other trash during the city’s Community Cleanup Day on Saturday, Oct. 26.
Community support and enthusiasm, combined with Mother Nature providing a gorgeous day, made for a hugely successful Cleanup Day. Volunteers collected litter, trash and other items dumped in the desert, filling six large, construction sized “roll-off” trash containers. This is equivalent to filling about two and a half “semi” tractor-trailers!
Victor Valley High School’s Interact Club and AVID were among several groups volunteering on Victorville Community Cleanup Day – Photo courtesy of Victorville Community Services Department
Volunteers represented area schools, churches, club and service organizations, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, homeowner associations, businesses, non-profits, families, friends, neighbors, and individuals. Volunteers were organized into 26 teams.
City Councilwoman Gloria Garcia visited a number of the sites to talk with the teams and personally thank them for their service. “This event illustrates the fantastic community spirit that exists in Victorville. It is wonderful to see so many people and so many organizations getting involved in this positive community project,” said Councilwoman Garcia.
“We had volunteers ranging in age from 3 to 94 years old,” said John Garcia, Victorville Code Enforcement Officer and event coordinator. “Some parents even came out and picked up litter while pushing strollers.”
Team leaders reported that the most common items picked up were plastic bags, paper, fast food wrappers, and to-go beverage cups. Larger items, needlessly dumped in the desert, included furniture, tires, car parts, and mattresses. Perhaps the most unusual item was a one trillion dollar ($1,000,000,000) bill!
The Victorville Community Cleanup Day is a semi-annual event, held each October and April. The first Victorville Cleanup Day was held in October 2007. Since then, more than 6,500 volunteers have worked together to collect over 68 tons of litter from Victorville roadsides.
This October’s Victorville Community Cleanup Day was sponsored by the City of Victorville, along with Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, American Landscape Maintenance, American Organics, CEMEX, Daily Press, Desert Valley Medical Group, Nutro Products, Plastipak, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Servpro, Shear Realty, Southwest Gas, Splattered Ink, Victor Valley Chamber of Commerce , Victorville Disposal/Burrtec, and Victorville Speed Wash.
Photos of the event will be posted on the City of Victorville’s website at http://www.Victorvilleca.gov (Quick Link: Community Cleanup) by the end of the month.
For more information about sponsoring or volunteering for future Victorville Community Cleanup Days, contact the City of Victorville Community Services Department, Environmental Programs Division at 760-955-5095.
