Jonesboro, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – As Earth Day approaches, the City of Jonesboro and the Keep Jonesboro Beautiful (KJB) Commission are calling on residents to help keep the area clean, green, and beautiful.

On Saturday, April 11, the city will host its “Neighborhood Clean-Up” drop-off event. Joining the city’s efforts is KJB, which will concurrently host a coordinated downtown litter pick-up dubbed the “Spring Spruce-Up.”

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The city’s Neighborhood Clean-Up will run from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. behind the First United Methodist Church located at 821 Union Street. Code Enforcement and Sanitation will be on-site to collect large objects so residents can clear out unwanted materials. Extra recycling services will also be available for glass, batteries, cardboard, and electronics.

There are certain items the city will take or decline to take, including:

• Accepted Items
  • Clothes, basketball goals, furniture (chairs, beds, tables, mattresses, etc.), and empty paint cans (residue must be dry and lids removed).
  • Appliances: Washers, dryers, stoves, and water heaters are accepted. Refrigerators must have the freon and compressor removed.
  • Tires: Limit of 8 per resident; no rims.
• Not Accepted
  • Yard waste, tractor/semi tires, remodeling materials, and hazmat materials (oils, fluids, batteries, flammables, automotive parts).

While the city’s drop-off begins at 8 a.m., KJB’s Spring Spruce-Up volunteers will also report to the First Methodist Church parking lot to sign in. Organizers will use this initial time to provide snacks and gather names for volunteer certificates before dividing everyone into teams to deploy at 9 a.m.

KJB Chair Beverly Parker said they will provide plastic gloves, adding volunteers can bring their own work gloves if they prefer. Parker also recommends volunteers wear sturdy shoes and socks. Once deployed, teams will be sent down predetermined streets in downtown Jonesboro to collect litter.

Organizers are strongly encouraging teens who need volunteer hours to join a pick-up team, though Parker stressed that the event is for all age groups and families, so they can cover as much territory as possible. At the end of the event, the KJB commission will present teens with a certificate indicating the time they spent volunteering.

“It is a good exercise for teens and young adults to have experience with litter removal, to see the difference it makes in a street that is littered, as opposed to turning around and seeing one that’s clean,” Parker said. She noted that participating can help youth pick up on cues that poor habits, such as improperly maintaining trash cans and dumpsters, create more litter.

The event is part of an initiative to kick off a broader sustainability focus leading up to Earth Day. Parker said they are working to make Jonesboro look its best, and that the more people they have, the more likely they are to achieve that goal.

“Heavily littered areas give off a feeling of not [being] safe. We want to clean our city, and we would like people to think more about their habits so that litter is prevented and that more people do their part to pick up litter,” she said.

Volunteers for the Spring Spruce-Up can register online in advance by clicking here. For more information on the commission and its ongoing projects, residents can visit KJB’s website.

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