Post-cleanup litter causes concern
EL DORADO — Keep El Dorado Beautiful thanked Ward Three for a community cleanup that was held on April 8 and drew numerous volunteers.
Keep El Dorado Beautiful also used the effort as an opportunity to urge citizens to capitalize on such events to help keep the city litter-free.
During a regular meeting on Monday, group member Pat Smith said one area volunteers targeted in the city’s largest ward has filled back up with litter.
“It looked horrible. They went in there and cleaned it, and they did a wonderful job,” Smith said. “I went back through there two or three days later, and it didn’t look as bad as it did, and I went through there today, and it’s almost as bad as it was.”
Janis Van Hook, president of Keep El Dorado Beautiful, called the situation “heartbreaking,” but all too common, noting that while the majority of residents and businesses participated in the cleanup, many of the volunteers do not live in the ward.
“That many people out there cleaning up a neighborhood they don’t live close to, and they put in all that time and effort in,” Van Hook said.
Several local youth groups were involved in the effort, including AAU basketball teams, the El Dorado High
School baseball team, Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado, members of Cross Life Church, EHS students with the Arkansas Student Leadership Initiative.
“Every household in Union County is issued those gigantic trash cans. There’s no excuse for the litter,” KEB member Jeri Ratcliff said.
Van Hook and other members pointed out that much of the litter found on city streets is thrown from passing vehicles.
“People who don’t live in the neighborhood who have not respect for the neighborhood they’re driving through,” Van Hook said.
For instance, Van Hook, who lives in the St. Louis neighborhood near Arby’s, Wendy’s and Sonic Drive-In, said she contends with litter from the fast-food restaurants that is tossed out of the windows of vehicles that pass by her house each day.
Ratcliff suggested that Keep El Dorado Beautiful try to partner with local restaurants to encourage their patrons not to throw out bags, wrappers, cups and containers.
“They may have corporate programs that they’re not utilizing, so we can educate them,” Ratcliff said.
Van Hook agreed. “That’s a good idea. If they just say, ‘Don’t litter,’ that would put it here,” Van Hook said, pointing to her head. “Some people, you can’t put it anywhere, but for those who care, it’ll at least get them thinking about it.”
Group member Valarie Smith also said she is working on putting together introductory packets to present to local businesses and companies to bring more people on board with KEB’s efforts to build a sustainable cleanup program in El Dorado.
Along with litter prevention, Smith said the group should also push its recycling component.
The group briefly discussed the city’s drop off-recycling center on Lester Street behind Arby’s.
The drop-off center has been a topic of conversation by KEB for more than a year, with group members decrying its appearance after items are deposited there after-hours.
“They do really well on weekends, but if it’s a holiday or extra day, oh, Lord! It’s looks like a war zone,” Van Hook said, referring to the closure of the facility for Good Friday.
Smith said signs posted at the facility are in “horrible shape” and need to be refreshed.
Alderman Dianne Hammond said that because of complaints about the appearance of the drop-off center on certain occasions, the city is still working to find another location for the facility, which is in a high-visibility spot a few feet off North West Avenue.
“Let’s just put a halt on that until we figure out what we’re going to do because a sign will be part of all that,” Hammond said, adding, “Maybe we could put up a temporary sign.”
Van Hook also reminded the group that work is under way to post signage reminding citizens that littering is a punishable offense.
The group previously discussed posting the signs in problem areas around town and has since spoken with 35th Judicial District Judge Jack Barker about the matter.
On Monday, Van Hook said Barker supports the effort.
She asked Hammond to speak with Mayor Frank Hash about getting the signs made in the City Shop.
“Explain to him that we’re ready to roll with this,” Van Hook said. In other business:
• The group agreed to meet at 10 a.m. on April 26 to prepare plants for the Plant the Town Purple beautification effort.
For the past two years, Keep El Dorado Beautiful has partnered with Northwest elementary school to distribute purple plants for students to take home.
The effort typically coincides with Earth Day events.
Volunteers will ready the plants for distribution in the gymnasium of College Avenue Church of Christ. This year, the plants — in celebration of EHS Wildcats purple — will be purple verbenas and petunias.
The plants will be handed out on April 27.
• KEB will conduct its annual litter index survey at 8 a.m. on April 29.
The group selects streets in each ward and scores each area on a scale from one to four — with one being the best and four the worst — on criteria such as litter on the ground, overgrown lots, and outside storage.
The survey is a requirement for KEB’s annual certification with its state and national parent organizations.
The survey will coincide with Arkansas Student Leadership Initiative’s Serve El Dorado Day, in which EHS students and parents spend the day performing community service projects around the city.
“We usually swing through and check in with them on our litter index ride,” Van Hook said, adding that KEB has ordered free supplies from the state to assist with ASLI’s litter cleanup efforts on that day.