The more, the merrier — and cleaner.
That’s the goal of this year’s annual spring roadside cleanup in McCandless, being held April 25 throughout the town.
The event marks six years since it began in 2018, collecting more than 2,600 bags of garbage along McCandless roads. Last year, 200 bags were filled, said Jeff Petro, chair of the McCandless Environmental Advisory Council, which organizes the cleanup.
“Many hands make light work. We’d love to have 150 people and make it easy for everybody,” he said.
Participants will meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Public Works building on 9955 Grubbs Road, where they will be supplied with fluorescent shirts, gloves, bags and other items needed to pick up trash.
The town also provides some snacks for the litter-getters.
The cleanup is a meaningful effort to beautify the town with swift, tangible results.
“This allows residents to have a vested interest in the way their community looks. It allows them to have a lot of pride in how we can tidy up their own neighborhoods and see the difference it makes,” said McCandless recreation director Abby Lucostic.
The Environmental Advisory Committee will identify the routes most in need of attention before the cleanup. More than 24 different routes will be cleaned, including all five parks in the town, Petro said.
Friends can request to be grouped together.
This community-building event is one that can be passed generationally, through families, youth groups, friends and neighbors, Petro said.
“We try to make it generational. Bring family,” he said.
Several council members usually participate each year, he said.
Each cleanup route is about 1 mile in each direction, so 2 miles total.
Registration is encouraged as it helps for planning purposes, Petro said. To register, visit townofmccandless.org.
This is also a great opportunity for Scouts or volunteer hours for students.
Lynn Appman, a McCandless resident, is looking forward to participating in the annual roadside cleanup.
She regularly picks up trash throughout the McCandless community, almost every day.
“I’m out here 10 minutes to half an hour. I have 12 streets in my neighborhood that I adopt,” said Appman, who was picking up garbage on a rainy late February morning near McCandless Crossing with fellow resident David Minerd.
“I’m trying to bring awareness where we can be better. We need to get more people involved,” she said.
In addition to the annual cleanup, residents can continue the efforts by adopting a road throughout the year. Petro suggests choosing a road that is personal to them, such as in their neighborhood, and involving friends, neighbors, family or children.
McCandless has an anti-litter program known as the Adopt-a-Roadway program, in which volunteer groups adopt a town-owned road, or a portion of the road, or a town park and pick up litter there, according to its website.
The town provides gloves, safety vests and bags for each litter clean up.
A list of state- and county-owned roads not eligible for cleanup is on the McCandless website under its Adopt-a-Road program, which also includes the required waiver form.
