The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works (DPW) is inviting Pittsburgh residents to go for GOLD with their neighbors in the Sixth Annual Garbage Olympics that takes place citywide on September 17.
The Garbage Olympics began in 2017 with 5 teams competing for an Oscar award for the most trash collected. But the annual competitive litter pickup event has grown exponentially since its start. Last year, more than 620 volunteers, spanning 46 neighborhood teams, were pitted against each other and collected in excess of 1,170 bags of trash, 375 automobile tires, 195 TVs, and 20+ bulk items.
“Each act of cleaning up litter isn't just a single, isolated action; it accomplishes dozens of things, every single time,” states the City’s Anti-Litter Specialist, Chris Mitchell. “That act raises pride in our community. It makes our community safer. It makes our community stronger. It makes the land and water around us cleaner and healthier. And it discourages further littering by keeping it clean in the first place.”
This year's competition looks to break all previous records with even more neighborhoods and more volunteers poised to join returning competitors. The cleanup event will take place from 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. with DPW and the Clean Pittsburgh Commission providing bags, gloves, safety vests, and "nifty nabber" litter grabbers. DPW and the City’s E-waste recycling vendor, E-Loop, will retrieve all collected refuse on-site for proper disposal.
“The Garbage Olympics allows anyone to make an impact in their neighborhood. You can have a team of two or fifty, either way you know that you’re a part of a bigger goal with all Pittsburgh neighborhoods doing a trash collection together," says Renee Robinson, Garbage Olympics Co-Founder and Organizer.
Winning teams will be announced by María Montaño, Mayor Ed Gainey’s Press Secretary, at a closing ceremony beginning at 12:00 p.m. the same day at Threadbare Cider House in Spring Garden (1291 Spring Garden Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15212).
Interested residents can either join their existing neighborhood team as a volunteer or register a new neighborhood team for others to join by going to www.PGHGO.org. For additional questions or to learn more, please email garbageolympicspgh@gmail.com or call/text 412-302-3460.
Original source can be found here.
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