It's that time of year when Onondaga County residents are encouraged to clean up the litter in their neighborhoods or favorite park that's accumulated during the winter. The Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency is once again holding its annual Earth Day Clean-up later this month, and registration ends in less than a week. OCRRA Spokesperson Tammy Palmer said anyone can make a difference.
“I’ve gone around during the Earth Day weekend looking for different groups, and I’ve seen anywhere from dozens of people getting together to a single person cleaning on their road, Palmer said.
Palmer says last year, more than 300 groups and four thousand volunteers were scattered across the county. She said the effort can't be underestimated, and produces tangible results.
“I know people think, well, what can I do? Look at all of the litter," Palmer said. "Trust me, a lot of litter gets picked up during this event. More than 155,000 pounds in one weekend is nothing to sneeze at.”
Three million pounds of litter have been collected since the program began in 1991. Volunteers can choose a public space in Onondaga County to pick up litter on April 25th, 26th, or both, at a time that works for them. OCRRA provides special stickers for the bags, and municipalities have arranged drop off locations. More information and registration can be found here. The deadline is April 15th.
Editor's note: This story was produced with help from Atleigh Stanley.
