PUEBLO, Colo. (KOAA) — A trash task force in Pueblo is dedicated to cleaning up garbage and picking trash around the city. The group is called Team Up to Clean Up.
“They do work nobody else will do,” said Steven Meier, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Pueblo. “They come in and attack all the bad spots and get it cleaned up for the community.”
Team Up to Clean Up is a group of eight city employees through the Pueblo Parks and Recreation Department who aren't afraid of getting their hands dirty.
“They are busting their tails trying to find and pick up trash,” said Meier.
They clean up trash, debris and encampments that are left on public property throughout the city.
“If they don't do that it is only going to fester and bring on more trash,” said Meier.
This week, the team cleared out an area along Fountain Creek. There was trash piled, including the following:
- plastic bottles
- boxes
- clothes
- bike tires
- sleeping bags
- shoes
- camping chairs
- other items
“We try to focus on most of our public properties for one thing, but most of the public properties and the low income, moderate income levels of town,” said Meier.
These areas are referred to as the qualified census track areas. Team Up To Clean Ups leader and Trash Removal Coordinator, Barbara Alphin, also picks which locations have priority.
“She's out here looking for which are the worst spots, which areas are most visible to the public, and try to get those as high priorities,” said Meier.
In just one day, the team has taken out a ton and a half of trash from the Fountain Creek area.
“But what really amazes me is the amount of needles we find,” said Alphin.
Alphin said they found 120 needles, 12 shopping carts and two tires in this clean up.
“I would say one person fills up maybe 10 or 12 bags of trash,” said Alphin. “We will get the big stuff out, like the tents fabric and all of that.”
They load the trash and items left behind into large carts, then pull the carts to the trucks, where the garbage is loaded up and taken to the dump.
“Our goal is to keep everything looking pretty clean and pristine, and hopefully people start respecting that more and more,” said Meier.
They leave the area better than they found it. Meier said people should call into the Pueblo mayor's office if they see trash being piled on public property.
The City of Colorado Springs has a program called the Neighborhood Cleanup Program. For more information about the program, visit the City of Colorado Springs website.
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