City of Soledad Cleanup Event - May 20, 2023

June 1, 2023| Event| cityofsoledad

City of Soledad Spring 2023
Reuse, Recycle & Cleanup Day Report

The City of Soledad held its spring Reuse, Recycle & Cleanup Day event on Saturday, May 20, 2023. This special event focuses on facilitating the diversion of recyclable materials, addressing the ongoing issue of illegal dumping in Soledad, and promoting reusing still usable items. The event took place in the Gabilan Drive parking lot in front of Soledad High School.

The cleanup event started with a long line of vehicles waiting for the 8:00 a.m. opening. Throughout the event, the line continued to encircle the parking lot. Our partners with the CalTrans Clean California program counted 252 vehicles serviced–50.4 vehicles per hour!

We set up a free exchange area for items that volunteers found could still be useful to others. A conservative estimate for the diversion from the reuse area is five cubic yards. We collected approximately ten cubic yards of clothing and household items for donation to the Goodwill in Soledad and a large trash bag of towels and blankets to take home and wash for donation to South County Animal Rescue.

The students from Soledad High School NJROTC supported the event to raise money for their program. They arrived on time and fully staffed the event as requested. Youth volunteers were helpful, informative, and courteous in assisting all residents in determining the best place for their items while source-separating and unloading their vehicles. They provided 90 hours of service to the community. Tri-Cities Disposal & Recycling will donate $500 to the program for their service to their community.

Salinas Valley Recycles provided support staff, transportation for clothing donations, and collection of special household wastes. The free sharps container exchange was available. Monterey County Environmental Health staff supplied oil exchange program containers and (up to) two free oil filter vouchers per person for exchange at a Soledad auto parts store. Save the Whales conducted over 100 surveys that support the city’s stormwater outreach and education requirements.

CalTrans District 5 staff joined us to conduct anti-littering and illegal dumping outreach for the Clean California campaign. They will again provide financial support for the landfilling fees and some professional staff time from Tri-Cities and Salinas Valley Recycles.
This event continues to offer youth volunteers an opportunity to shine in their community. Residents interact positively with the City of Soledad and its youth, the County of Monterey, Salinas Valley Recycles, Save the Whales, and Tri-Cities Disposal & Recycling. Thanks to all who participated and everyone for working so hard!