A record number of volunteers participated in the citywide Philly Spring Cleanup on Saturday, April 11. There were 14,460 people involved in 723 projects across the city, surpassing last year’s totals of 14,225 and 565.
Working on the theme “Keep Up the Sweep Up” as an inspiration to keep the effort going year-round, volunteers rounded up 953,640 pounds of debris from cleanup sites in one day. Together, volunteers donated 72,300 service hours. The annual event celebrated its eighth year.
Included in the mass of debris were 107,580 pounds of recyclable material, 104,260 pounds of tires and 9,960 pounds of yard waste. Four parks and recreation centers were cleaned while workers distributed 3,200 recycling bins.
The city also distributed 6,500 trash and recycling bags, 5,000 brooms, 15,000 gloves, 3,100 shovels, 3,800 rakes and 720 gallons of recycled O’Leary paint (donated by Dow and used to cover graffiti and repaint curbs and recreation center fences). ••
