Alabaster finds success with 11th annual Clean Sweep

By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Alabaster residents had the opportunity to do a little spring cleaning in their homes and around the city during Alabaster’s 11th annual Clean Sweep.

This year’s Clean Sweep came in two forms with a roadway cleanup event on Saturday, April 6 and a paper shred and e-cycle event on Saturday, April 20.

“It was another great year for our annual Alabaster Clean Sweep,” Alabaster City Councilmember Stacy Rakestraw said. “Working with the volunteers is always so enjoyable and seeing everyone work together to serve the community. I cannot say enough good things about the volunteers and the importance they play in this initiative. It would not be possible without them.”

Each year, the city of Alabaster hosts the Clean Sweep in order to provide residents with an opportunity to clean up litter around the city as well as the chance to shred unwanted paper or to dispose of old electronics.

“The purpose of the Clean Sweep is to bring awareness to the littering issues in the city, as well as allow residents to purge through their homes and securely dispose of years of paperwork or any type of electronics they have stacked up and are no longer using,” Rakestraw said.

The Alabama People Against a Littered State organization, also known as ALPALS, provided litter bags and recycle boxes for the event. The organization also sent an informational video to educate children about litter and recycling which was sent to Alabaster City School to be used in classrooms

During the roadway clean up, community service groups picked up 35 bags of litter in addition to another 40 bags from the public works department before it cleared the right of ways around the city.

During the paper shredding and e-cycle event, the city took in four-and-a-half tons of paper and twelve full pallet boxes of electronics and filled a box truck. In addition, 28 bags of recycled water bottles were received during a two week initiative to promote recycling at Thompson High School.

Alabaster Beautification Board member Amanda Pearce spearheaded the event with the Thomson High School ROTC to collect and remove the bags of recycled bottles.

“Col. Davis and Cadet Cmdr. Walchli were right on board and so helpful in organizing the ROTC members to make this program a success for the second year in a row,” Pearce said.

Rakestraw expressed her appreciation for those who helped make this year’s edition of Clean Sweep a success, including sponsors Ashlee Springer McLaughlin and Tami Boyd with Keller Williams Metro South in Alabaster for their third year in sponsoring and volunteering for the event.

Multiple beautification board members and a local resident also volunteered at the event, along with eleven THS football players, recruited by coach Mark Freeman, who did the heaving lifting, and unloading vehicles that came through the event.

“They received five hours of community service and willingly gave up their Saturday morning to help,” Rakestraw said. “Also, our public works department played a big role in setting up this event and I want to thank Jeff Atkins from the ACS BOE for working with me year after year to get the building ready for us to use.”

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