COVID-19 can’t wipe out popular event

Annual community cleanup is rescheduled for July 18 and 25

Anyone who was disappointed after Perry Township’s cleanup was postponed in April now has a reason to be satisfied.

Anyone who was disappointed after Perry Township’s annual community cleanup was postponed in April now has a reason to be satisfied.

That’s because the event has been rescheduled for July 18 and 25.

Originally, the 2020 community cleanup had been slated for April 18 and 25. However, a day after trustees awarded a contract for the program to Waste Management, the township received a notice from the contractor, announcing that the event would not take place.

The postponement occurred after concerns stemming from the novel coronavirus pandemic prompted Waste Management to suspend what it described as “a number of non-essential services.” A notice from the contractor confirmed that Perry Township’s event — traditionally billed as a spring cleanup — fell into the category of services being delayed.

But the wait soon will be over for residents who had been stashing trash, such as household items, not able to be taken away during regular garbage pickup. An announcement posted recently on the Perry Township website outlined the services available and rules to follow for the upcoming two-day community cleanup program. Although the event — which is conducted in Perry Township and Village — has transitioned from spring to summer for 2020, the format is similar to cleanups of previous years.

On July 18, Waste Management will haul away items left at curbside in the part of the community north of the CSX railroad tracks. Waste Management will perform that same service for the section of the community south of the CSX tracks on July 25.

Perry Township’s announcement notes that the railroad tracks mentioned are the ones closest to Main Street in Perry Village.

Residents, on their appointed pickup days, must have items placed at curbside by 5 a.m. Rubbish that won’t be picked up during the event includes batteries, engine blocks, heavy automobile parts, leaves, brush, yard waste, hazardous materials, liquid paint, dead animals, propane tanks, gas tanks, regular household garbage, and any containers or boxes weighing more than 50 pounds, the township stated in its announcement.

A few other regulations for the curbside pickup are:

• Items such as shingles or plasterboard must be boxed or placed in a container.

• Mattresses and cloth furniture must be wrapped in plastic.

• Items containing freon will be collected.

Residents in the participating communities also can discard few other kinds of debris on July 18 and 25 at the Perry Township Road Garage, 4720 Webb Road. From 8 a.m. to noon on those days, residents can drop off yard waste; pieces of metal no longer than 4 feet; and tires that already have had their rims removed.

The township used to conduct two separate twoday cleanups every year, but budget constraints have narrowed it down to a oncea-year event.

“I think it’s an excellent service for a lot of people in the community to get rid of things,” Trustee Board Chairman Rick Amos said. “In a lot of cases, they’d have to pay and it’s a significant amount of money to have their own provider take away some of that bigger stuff that’s not free.”