7 days ago
Conneaut hosting spring clean-up
CONNEAUT — The city is hosting a spring clean-up at the former Astatic property, at 341 Harbor St.
The event began Thursday and continues today and Saturday, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
It is open to Conneaut residents.
Conneaut Wastewater Superintendent Brian Bidwell said people participating in the clean-up have to show proof of city residency.
'Essentially, if you bring it here, we unload everything for everybody,' he said. 'If they want to help, they can, but we just have them pull up, we unload it.'
Bidwell said the clean-up is focused on taking in larger items, but will not take hazardous waste, like refrigerators, air conditioners and other items that contain freon.
'Other than that, we take mattresses, TVs ... couches and furniture, and things like that,' he said. 'We're just putting [it] in the dumpster and smashing it down.'
The clean-up also takes scrap metal and is sending it to a scrap yard, and people can come to the clean-up as many times as they want, Bidwell said.
'I don't anticipate that we'll be turning anyone away,' he said.
Alongside taking in junk, the clean-up is collecting tires.
Bidwell said the city's target is collecting 800 tires.
'Technically, we're only taking four tires per person, so, if you've got two people in the car, we'll take eight tires,' he said.
The Conneaut Health Department funded the tire removal with $5,600 in grant funds from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Conneaut Health Commissioner Nichele Blood said.
Blood said unused tires can be a place for mosquitos to reproduce.
'[The clean up is] a great event that the city is able to put on for the citizens of Conneaut,' she said.
The health department is giving out mosquito repellent at the clean up.
'If you're bringing tires, we're also giving you some mosquito repellent, just as a [thank you for] helping us keep the community mosquito-free,' Bidwell said.
This is the second year the city has hosted the clean-up.
'I'm thrilled we're able to provide this opportunity to the city once again, because it's amazing what we accumulate over time and just need to organize and de-clutter,' Conneaut City Manager Nick Sanford said.
Bidwell said there are not many changes to this year's event.
'The first day last year, we started out a little differently,' he said. 'We had people coming in, unloading things onto the pad, and then we were scooping it up. It was taking too long, so we changed what we were doing last year on day two.'
Bidwell said he hopes the event gets bigger each year.
'A lot of people are cleaning up in the spring, and getting rid of just stuff in general,' he said. 'It's really been well-received in the community, and I think it's going to get better every year, and at hopefully at some point down the road, it'll be something even more.'
