By Dorian Patton
One hour a week makes a huge difference, and volunteers are always welcome every Friday morning, when teams clean up a designated area of the island.
The threat of rain did not keep volunteers away on May 20, when 15 people met near Harpoon Harry’s and collected two gallons of cigarette butts, 23 pounds of trash and 14 pounds of recycling. The city’s Port Services department does a good job keeping up with the big stuff, but it’s the little items that take more time to pick up and end up in the water easily. Please do your part and deposit your butts in an approved receptacle or take them with you as they can easily end up in our beautiful waters.
Special thanks to Harpoon Harry’s owner Ron Heck for the post-cleanup beverages he provided to all the volunteers.
A troubling number of plastic bags also have been included in recent hauls. Please remember your reusable bags when shopping so we can keep the plastic off the streets, parking lots and most importantly out of the water.
The city of Key West and its residents ask everyone to do their part to help keep Key West beautiful. Simple steps like making sure you bag your trash before putting it in your Waste Management trash cans or Dumpsters, and making sure the lids on Dumpsters are closed, will keep a lot of trash from blowing into the streets.
Please pick up around your home or apartment complex. Every piece of trash picked up is one less that may end up in the ocean that surrounds and sustains our island community. It is not just the large items you can see easily when you are walking, but the smaller items such as bottle caps and cigarette butts that are collected by the volunteers that make the biggest difference.
All are invited to join the Friday morning cleanups from 8 to 9 a.m. Parking is provided and all volunteers receive a parking pass when needed for metered or residential parking spots. See the calendar here for Friday cleanup locations. Call Dorian Patton at City Hall with any questions at 305-809-3782.
May & June cleanups, all events are 8 to 9 a.m.
Friday, May 27: Duval and South streets, meet at Duval Pocket Park.
Friday, June 3: Truman Waterfront Park, meet in the big parking lot.
Friday, June 10: N. Roosevelt and 5th Street, meet in Gulf Atlantic parking lot.
Saturday, June 11: Bahama Village Cleanup, meet at Frederick Douglass Gym.
Friday, June 17: Flagler & George streets.
Friday, June 24: Duval and Eaton streets.
