Use this week to spiff up Jamestown

It’s time to clean up this town.

This year, Jamestown residents will put hundreds of tons of garbage out on the street during the annual citywide residential curbside cleanup this week.

Last year, the city picked up 295.04 tons of garbage during Clean-Up Week.

This year, about 35 workers from three city departments will work together, using about 25 trucks and loaders, to pick up all that trash.

People can help make Clean-Up Week better by placing their items on the street near the curb — never on the grassy boulevards — and by only putting items out that can be picked up.

Putting items on the grass means city employees have to remove them piece by piece, rather than using a vehicle’s scoop to pick everything up and keep driving.

City crews will be picking up materials today through Thursday. They will pick up in southeast Jamestown today, southwest Jamestown on Tuesday, northwest Jamestown on Wednesday and northeast Jamestown on Thursday.

Jamestown residents can also help by bringing recyclables to Renaissance Recycling, which will be open from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon the week of June 4-9.

Every year, people put out fewer recyclables for the garbage pick-up during Clean-Up Week, said Roger Mayhew, Jamestown’s sanitation foreman.

“It gets better every year,” Mayhew added.

Keeping recyclables out of the landfill saves the city money by making landfill cells last longer. It’s also better for the environment.

For those who want to go the extra mile in keeping Jamestown looking good, the Chamber of Commerce is offering trash bags to individuals and groups willing to help clean up public areas in town.

The bags can be picked up from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Friday.

Let’s all do our part to keep Jamestown clean.

Tags: opinion, cleanup, local, editorials