EVERETT — Clutter and litter could meet their match Saturday during the city’s first Clean Everett Day.
It’s a neighborhood-based opportunity for people to toss accumulated trash without paying dump fees from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you’re not sure what neighborhood you live in, a city web page, everettwa.gov/2856/Clean-Everett-Day, includes a map so you can pick the right area to sign up for volunteer cleanup duty.
Or people can come without registering to help or just drop off garbage for free.
Complaints and concerns about trash were one of the most common reasons people contacted the mayor’s office over the past few years, Everett director of engagement Nichole Webber said.
Parks and facilities director Bob Leonard said there are plenty of anecdotes of people dumping illegally across the city. Full garbage bags end up in city bins. Furniture lies abandoned along alleys.
“I think it’s everyone’s responsibility to keep our city clean,” Webber said. “If we all took pride in the block outside of our house and maybe extended that a little further, our city would be even more beautiful than it already is.”
To jump-start a tidier city, Everett is covering the $20,000 to $30,000 bill for weight-based dump fees.
Large dumpsters will be at Cascade High, Lowell Elementary, North Middle and Sequoia High schools. Yard waste containers will be at the two high schools.
Rubatino Refuse Removal, which the city contracts for curbside garbage, recycling and yard waste pickup, is donating the dumpsters and worker time.
Some neighborhood associations were organizing specific efforts. The Cascade View neighborhood of south Everett planned to clean the walking path from 92nd Street SE to West Mall Drive and on the Interurban Trail to 84th Street SE. Riverside was set to patrol the alley between Broadway and McDougall Avenue and the freeway ramps at Pacific Avenue.
Not all trash will be accepted. The don’t-throw-away list includes air conditioners, appliances, ash, auto parts, bio-hazardous waste, brick or dirt, concrete, contaminated soil, electronic household items (such as dehumidifiers and heat pumps), fecal matter, large furniture, paint and rodent-infested loads.
“Everett is a huge footprint,” Webber said. “We need everyone to show up, clean up and get ready for summer.”
Those who show up can get bags, gloves and safety vests. They should wear comfortable clothing and closed-toe shoes. The city will have some pickers, sticks with prongs to grab items, available for lead volunteers to safely retrieve sharp things.
Four volunteers were needed to monitor dumpsters at each site over two shifts. They should be comfortable helping other people heave garbage into the tall containers.
The city hopes to turn it into an annual event. Within the next year, city leaders hope to be part of an app for people to notify the proper department of issues, such as damaged roads and sidewalks, illegal dumping and graffiti.
Ben Watanabe: 425-339-3037; bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @benwatanabe.
Talk to us
- You can tell us about news and ask us about our journalism by emailing newstips@heraldnet.com or by calling 425-339-3428.
- If you have an opinion you wish to share for publication, send a letter to the editor to letters@heraldnet.com or by regular mail to The Daily Herald, Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.
- More contact information is here.
