That's a lot of garbage

Volunteers removed 16 tons of trash from Coeur d'Alene's streets last year.

Participants in the city's Adopt-A-Street program delivered the tons of picked up litter — bottles, cups, fast food wrappers and more — to the Kootenai County transfer station in 2011.

Authorized by the City Council in June 2000, the Adopt-a-Street Program was originally intended primarily for the city's more rural streets (e.g., Atlas, Kathleen, North 15th, etc.). The program is a partnership between the city and the citizen who adopts the street. The "adopting" individual, family, or group picks up the trash, while the city provides signage, vests, and orange litter-bags. The city also collects the bags the next working day after they have been filled.

For each Adopt-a-Street group, the city asks that a leader is chosen. That person is responsible for each participant's "Hold Harmless" Agreement. In addition, the leader schedules and announces the litter pick-up outings, makes sure that a minimum number of participants are available to complete the task, and also receives and stores the group's safety vests and the trash bags provided by the Street Maintenance Department. Once litter pick-up outings are completed, the leader calls the department to collect the filled, trash bags.

Adopt-a-Street volunteers are encouraged to patrol their areas a minimum of two times per year. Shared areas are coordinated by leaders to increase the frequency of garbage pick up to meet the needs of their adopted street.

For more information about the Adopt-A-Street Program: (208) 769-2235

Source: City of Coeur d'Alene Today