Plastic Free July Community Cleanup
This July, we’re observing Plastic Free July, an annual reminder to reduce our plastic consumption. Consumer use of plastics has exponentially increased over the past few decades, especially the use of single-use plastics and containers. In the U.S., ~40-60% of plastic is used in households versus industrial settings and about half of that plastic is single-use. While it can sometimes feel impossible to decrease our plastic consumption, there are lots of small steps we can take to curb our plastic usage AND decrease the amount of plastics decomposing in our environment.
Join Pick It Up–Toss No Mas for a community cleanup on Saturday, July 19th. From 9 am – noon, volunteers will work together to clean roads, public spaces, and waterways around Silver City. As we clean up our community in July, let’s make a special effort to remove plastics so they can be safely contained within our lined, sanitary landfill!
Volunteers should meet at the Gila Community Foundation parking lot at 1106 North Pope Street, from 9 am to noon on Saturday, July 19th to grab supplies: trash bags, gloves, trash pickers, and snacks. Volunteers will then return to the parking lot to drop off all litter and debris between 11am and noon. We’ll have coffee, donuts, and music for volunteers!
Volunteers should bring a water bottle and wear closed-toe shoes, a sun hat, and sunscreen. Children 17 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Families with younger children are encouraged to clean up litter in their neighborhood, local parks or waterways as children under 12 are not permitted on state highways for the cleanup.
Thank you to our partners at the New Mexico Department of Transportation for hauling away collected trash to the landfill!
Check out the Pick It Up-Toss No Mas website www.silvercitytossnomas.org to sign up to volunteer and to learn about litter prevention opportunities, the business pledge program, Adopt-A-Roadway or Waterway program, and solid waste disposal and recycling resources.
Volunteers are the foundation of the Pick It Up – Toss No Mas program. Since October 2021, over 980 volunteers have picked up over 30,692 pounds of trash, debris, and recyclables from Highways 180 and 90, Silver City neighborhoods, Big Ditch Park, San Vicente Creek, Pinos Altos Creek, and other urban riparian areas.
Thank you to each and every one of our volunteers, organizations, and partners who do all this work! We are incredibly thankful for the amazing monthly turnouts and support in our collective effort to keep Silver City clean and beautiful.
Monthly Pick It Up – Toss No Mas clean-up events are held the third Saturday of every month. Community members can also adopt a roadway or waterway to take care of and clean up throughout the year. On top of that, Pick It Up – Toss No Mas can provide guidance for those who would like to put on their own clean up event, helping to supply the trash pickers, trash bags and gloves for your event.
Pick It Up – Toss No Mas community cleanup events are sponsored by the Town of Silver City, New Mexico Clean and Beautiful, Silver City Watershed Keepers, Silver City Recycles, Silver City MainStreet, SWNMACT, Southwest Solid Waste Authority, Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce, and New Mexico Department of Transportation’s Que Linda Program.
