From Belleville.com:
BY CARA ANTHONY
News-Democrat
EAST ST. LOUIS --State crews on Tuesday began cleaning up areas in the city that have been used as illegal dumps.
The workers are concentrating on the 5500 block of Summit Ave. Crews will be in that area until June 29.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency initiated the cleanup that targets trustee property, alleys and ditches. Areas used as illegal dumping sites often contain household garbage, abandoned vehicles and tires.
"The cleanups happen all across the state of Illinois," said Jill Watson, a spokeswoman for the IEPA.
A recent state cleanup in nearby Venice collected 1,306 tons of waste and nearly 67 tons of abandoned tires. Improperly managed used tires provide a breeding ground for mosquitos, which carry the West Nile virus.
"We are making the effort to turn East St. Louis around and make it a cleaner town," said Joe Zappa, a project manager for the Illinois Removes Illegal Dumps program. Washington Park also will be included in the I-RID program's cleanup efforts.
The state hires local contractors to clean up the illegal dump sites after the responsible parties cannot be located or areas that present imminent threats, such as fires or hazardous waste, are identified.
"Illegal open dumping around Illinois can potentially pose health and safety hazards to both people and the environment, but the I-RID program has begun to tackle those environmental eyesores," IEPA Director Doug Scott said.
The I-RID program became law in 2005 and gives the IEPA additional authority to combat open dumping and clean up existing dumps.
Showing posts with label Clean-Up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clean-Up. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Good News! Newly Elected Mayor & Volunters Are Cleaning Up East St. Louis
From KSDK:
By Rebecca Wu
(KSDK) - The city of East St. Louis is trying to clean up its image in more ways than one. Every Saturday through the end of summer, volunteers will clean up the streets.
Newly elected mayor Alvin Parks, Jr. isn't afraid to make cuts in order to keep weeds from growing in downtown streets.
"When they're high, you have people who want to hide in the weeds and do something not healthy for the citizens," Parks said. "When you have a lot of weeds, it could block stop signs and street corners so cars can't see around them."
An estimated 100 volunteers helped clean up downtown Saturday, including East St. Louis native Dorian McCorkle. If he weren't whacking weeds, he'd be at home beating his drums. But he volunteered after seeing the mayor asking for help on TV.
"I occupy my time to keep me from being in trouble and to show the little kids how to get out and clean up your neighborhood and not destroy your neighborhood also," said McCorkle.
Cleaning up the city is one of two priorities for the mayor. The other is to keep citizens safe by increasing police patrol and stepping up criminal investigations. Those were the things Parks heard over and over again during his campaign for office.
Mike Makhlouf, the manager at Crown Food Mart on Colinsville Street, where volunteers were picking up trash, said he'd never seen anyone cleaning up trash before.
"That's something nice, something different, actually a surprise for everybody," said Makhlouf.
Makhlouf was so happy to see people cleaning the area around his gas station and food mart, he brought them water. He believes the trash keeps away potential customers unfamiliar with the area.
"They think it's a bad area, it's not a nice area. They don't like to stop by. That's why we like to see it clean."
After cleaning up the trash, Parks wants to beautify the city with flowers, trees and fountains. That way East St. Louis not only looks good but feels good.
"There's a sense of pride that you have to reestablish by cleaning up your community," said Parks.
Volunteers estimate they picked up 11 truckloads of trash in just four hours.
They started cleaning downtown but will eventually clean up different parts of East St. Louis throughout the summer. Parks hopes residents will step up when volunteers clean their neighborhood.
The Saturday clean up events will continue each weekend through the summer, except Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.
By Rebecca Wu
(KSDK) - The city of East St. Louis is trying to clean up its image in more ways than one. Every Saturday through the end of summer, volunteers will clean up the streets.
Newly elected mayor Alvin Parks, Jr. isn't afraid to make cuts in order to keep weeds from growing in downtown streets.
"When they're high, you have people who want to hide in the weeds and do something not healthy for the citizens," Parks said. "When you have a lot of weeds, it could block stop signs and street corners so cars can't see around them."
An estimated 100 volunteers helped clean up downtown Saturday, including East St. Louis native Dorian McCorkle. If he weren't whacking weeds, he'd be at home beating his drums. But he volunteered after seeing the mayor asking for help on TV.
"I occupy my time to keep me from being in trouble and to show the little kids how to get out and clean up your neighborhood and not destroy your neighborhood also," said McCorkle.
Cleaning up the city is one of two priorities for the mayor. The other is to keep citizens safe by increasing police patrol and stepping up criminal investigations. Those were the things Parks heard over and over again during his campaign for office.
Mike Makhlouf, the manager at Crown Food Mart on Colinsville Street, where volunteers were picking up trash, said he'd never seen anyone cleaning up trash before.
"That's something nice, something different, actually a surprise for everybody," said Makhlouf.
Makhlouf was so happy to see people cleaning the area around his gas station and food mart, he brought them water. He believes the trash keeps away potential customers unfamiliar with the area.
"They think it's a bad area, it's not a nice area. They don't like to stop by. That's why we like to see it clean."
After cleaning up the trash, Parks wants to beautify the city with flowers, trees and fountains. That way East St. Louis not only looks good but feels good.
"There's a sense of pride that you have to reestablish by cleaning up your community," said Parks.
Volunteers estimate they picked up 11 truckloads of trash in just four hours.
They started cleaning downtown but will eventually clean up different parts of East St. Louis throughout the summer. Parks hopes residents will step up when volunteers clean their neighborhood.
The Saturday clean up events will continue each weekend through the summer, except Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.
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