MOUNT HOPE, WV (WOAY) – Residents had a chance to beautify Fayette County at the Litter Control’s Community Cleanup event (May 21-23).
They discarded their unwanted goods in the roll-off dumpsters at 679 Stadium Drive, across from Mount Hope’s football field.
It had a positive impact on volume and material collection.
“Since we’ve done these community cleanups through the county commission, we’ve noticed (minimizing) of a lot of illegal dumping in the woods and off the beaten path,” said Litter Control Officer Dan Helton. “Because we give them a place where they can come and dump it legally for free.”
When one is closer to the landfill (Fayette County doesn’t have one) they use Raleigh’s, the weight is less.
“Further down the valley, they are a lot further away from the landfill,” Helton said. “So we get about five or six dumpsters full, typically in areas like Mount Hope, we do about three or four. It’s a smaller footprint and there’s a little bit less trash than in other places off the plateau.”
It’s a good time to streamline.
“When there’s good weather, people get around their house and start cleaning up old patio furniture, decking material, and unwanted household goods,” said the litter control officer.
The Fayette County Commission Litter Control Office partnered with the Solid Waste Authority, the City of Mount Hope, and DEP.
“It’s saving the town money. In return, they could use the cleanups’ funding to boost the aesthetics, like the parks and things for the youth,” Helton said, adding that is his preference. “It’s good when people come to visit and they see a nice, clean environment; it’s a warm welcome place to be.”
According to the litter control officer, he has designated folks retrieve the scrap metal so it doesn’t overtake the bins, and they set aside renewable products to properly recycle. The community cleanup is helping combat the ‘open dump’ situation.
“Historically, people would just go and burn garbage and throw it in the middle of the woods somewhere,” said Helton. “Children are going to have to grow up in this stuff. If we lead by example, we could we could start with this good model.”
