After a relatively gentle spring breakup, Anchorage’s ditches, medians, trails, parks and waterways are once again littered with a winter’s worth of trash.
Now it’s time to tidy up.
The biggest effort, the Anchorage Chamber’s annual Citywide Cleanup, begins this Saturday and runs through May 31. There are many other ways to pitch in, though, including a lake cleanup flotilla and an electronics recycling drive.
The Citywide Cleanup’s signature orange trash bags are available at various locations starting Saturday, including at Fred Meyer stores, the ConocoPhillips building downtown, the Alaska Aviation Museum near the airport and at Kaladi Brothers locations on Jewel Lake Road, East Tudor Road and Brayton Drive.
You can use the orange bags to pick up trash throughout Anchorage during the month of May, but the Chamber suggests starting around your neighborhood or workplace.
The Chamber has a few other important tips for garbage-picker-uppers:
• Wear thick protective gloves, and a high-visibility safety vest is recommended if you’re working anywhere near traffic.
• Bring along a sturdy plastic container to safely toss sharps like needles.
• Make sure to respect private property boundaries.
• Cleaning homeless encampments is not recommended.
• Don’t leave your orange bags along the road; no one is going to pick them up. Instead, drop them off for free at the Anchorage Regional Landfill in Eagle River, the Central Transfer Station in Midtown Anchorage or other designated spots.
A full list of bag pickup and free drop-off locations is available on the Anchorage Chamber’s Citywide Cleanup website.
May cleanup events
• Jump in with the Anchorage Chamber’s Citywide Cleanup Kickoff event on May 3 at Westchester Lagoon from 1-3 p.m., featuring prizes and music.
• Check to see if your school is participating in the Anchorage School District’s Super Sweeper Saturday on May 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Coordinators and Alaska Waste have arranged a bag pickup at their respective schools.
• Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s installation-wide Operation Clean Sweep is taking place from May 12-16.
• The annual Ship Creek Spring Cleanup is May 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Last year’s effort netted a whopping 1,500 pounds of garbage, according to the event’s Facebook page. Volunteers are advised to dress in layers for cooler temperatures and bring rubber boots or waders, in addition to gloves and reflective wear.
• The Anchorage Waterways Council is organizing a broader creek cleanup from May 15-26 — sign up on their website, and check out the list of locations here.
• If you’re equipped with a canoe, kayak, raft, inflatable tube or waders, you can also participate in a cleanup flotilla. Volunteers will scour hard-to-reach corners of local lakes for trash on May 17 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the initial meetup to pick up supplies at Cuddy Lake Park at 9 a.m. The event is organized by the Anchorage Waterways Council, Anchorage Parks and Recreation, the Anchorage Park Foundation and Team Orange. Sign up using the event’s online form.
• Old computers, TVs, fax machines or other defunct electronics junking up your space? On May 24, the Mountain View Lions Club is hosting an electronics recycling drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mountain View Lions Park, 501 N. Pine St. Donations of $5-$15 for larger items are appreciated.
Are you organizing an additional Anchorage spring cleanup event not listed here? Email us at newstips@adn.com and we’ll add it to the lineup.
