There is no “I” in “team,” but there is an “I” in “litter.”
And a cleanup next week is designed to spread the message that picking up litter should be an everyday practice for everyone.
The Community Pride Committee of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce is hosting the cleanup Sept. 21-26.
“Everybody can make their contribution to picking up after themselves,” said Marion Howard of the Community Pride Committee. “It is discouraging to see so much litter.”
There will not be a competition this year, but the committee is challenging all people to do their part to make Greenwood a better place for residents and visitors.
Litter “affects the way the city is perceived by visitors and reflects a negative attitude citizens have about the community,” Howard said.
Members of the Community Pride Committee will go to schools with a Mississippi Department of Transportation employee to talk about littering and watch an educational video. This program will be conducted in third-grade classrooms in the city, county and private schools.
“They will encourage the children to encourage their parents to pick up the community,” Howard said.
Some local businesses are also buying “Don’t Litter the Scene” signs and posting them.
“The community cleanup, I think is a great thing,” Public Works Director Benny Herring said. “The cleaner your city, the more enticing it is. It makes people want to move and live in your city.”
Teams, businesses and individuals interested in participating in the cleanup can pick up bags and gloves and choose their cleanup area at the Chamber of Commerce.
The Public Works Department will provide the trash receptacles. Community members must make sure their trash makes it into the container.
“We will put barriers around three sides of the trailers and have our guys monitor the area so when they get full we know to dump them,” Herring said.
There will be seven locations throughout the community with signs donated by Coca-Cola to identify them. These are the same locations used for the last clean-up week’s ward competition.
People can take old tires to a site at 600 Parkway, which is open year-round from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Residents also are being encouraged to keep tops on their garbage cans and keep their alleys clean so animals don’t get in and spread litter into the streets.
The pride committee is also working on the upcoming recycling program for Greenwood to save money and landfill space.
