Two years ago our community was extremely successful with a community-wide clean up called Clean Sweep. The event spanned four weekends, involved hundreds of volunteers and the efforts removed more than 550 tons of trash from the community.
Since the inaugural event there have been smaller neighborhood sweeps that have also been successful.
Another one is planned for this weekend and now is the time to begin collecting those unwanted items for disposal.
The event will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday and Saturday dump times will run from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Sunday they will run from 1 to 5 p.m.
There will be two drop-off locations. Residents can take items to the Lyon County Transfer Station at 100 South Ave. or to Santa Fe Park on South Avenue, which is between Las Casitas Park and the skateboard park.
All types of trash will be accepted. Everything from yard waste to paint, tires, e-waste like computers and televisions, to recyclables like glass, plastics and cardboard. The only thing that will not be accepted is large industrial tires.
Event organizer, Patti Gilligan, said they are still looking for volunteers to help. They need 30 people per shift and they will have three shifts per day. To help, call Gilligan, 342-4291.
This a great event for the community so please take advantage of this opportunity to dump your trash for free. Gilligan said with good community support they will keep doing Clean Sweep events.
There is plenty of trash around our community that needs to be gotten rid of. Use the free dump days this weekend to help clean up Emporia.