Albany’s ‘Stash-the-Trash’ kicks off community-wide clean-up efforts

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Keeping in line with spring cleaning, Friday, Albany city government leaders and employees picked up their trash bags and gloves to try to put a dent in the city’s litter problem.

Not even an hour into picking up trash, volunteers were able to collect tons of trash bags full of litter including plastic bags and even an old bicycle wheel.

In 2022, over two tons of trash were picked up during the Great American Clean-up event. — In 2022, over two tons of trash were picked up during the Great American Clean-up event.(WALB)

“This war on litter is terrible. I mean people throwing stuff out as fast as we pick it up,” Anthony Jones, District 6 Dougherty County commissioner, said.

In 2022, the volunteers collected over two tons of trash during the “Great American Cleanup” event. Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful reports that on a community appearance index from one to four, with four being extremely littered, Albany scored a 1.42 last year.

Jwana Washington, Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful’s executive director, said any amount of litter is bad.

“Our litter is not that big of a problem but it is very unsightly and wherever litter is it seems that it is magnified,” Washington said.

But Jones said litter is impacting Albany’s economic growth.

City leaders said trash cans in Downtown Albany are almost always overflowing. — City leaders said trash cans in Downtown Albany are almost always overflowing.(WALB)

“But if we look good here in the city and county, certainly we can attract industry, we can attract tourism, we can attract business,” Jones said.

That’s why city and county employees kicked off the Great American Cleanup with their annual Stash-the-Trash. Jones said he wants to lead by example.

“It’s just like poverty. We’re not going to ever get a handle on it until everybody joins in, joins forces and says Stash the Trash,” he said.

Albany Mayor Bo Dourough said the initiative to pick up more trash needs to go beyond yearly events.

“If we’re going to improve the appearance of our city, we have to do it together and we have to do it every day of the year,” Dourough said.

The Great American Cleanup will start at 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. on Saturday at 1719 Owens Avenue in Albany. Supplies like gloves, sticks and trash bags will be provided.

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