After years of “talking trash,” Harrisburg City Councilwoman Sandra Reid launching some new initiatives to clean up the streets.
While walking in the alley behind her home in Allison Hill, Reid shared her frustrations with neighbors leaving trash out for days at a time and dumping things like electronics.
“And, I’m the chair of public works trying to clean up the city for two years, and this is my alley. And, this is an improvement from what it used to be,” said Reid.
Reid is asking area businesses either to donate trash cans or money to purchase trash cans. Her goal is distribute 2,000 trash cans to city residents on June 7.
“To find a cure for the trash epidemic, we must work backwards to find the cause of the disease. I believe that our trash disease is caused by the lack of trash cans,” Reid wrote in a letter.
Beyond that, she’s starting an initiative she calls C.O.P.E. It’s an acronym for Clean up, Organize, Provide and Enforcement.
“Until we get that enforcement piece, we’ll never get to the point where we’re actually cleaning up,” said Reid.
Some neighbors in Allison Hill pointed to a problem of apathy among some of the people living in the community.
“I think the problem is people don’t care. And, they see it around, so they just follow what they see,” said Mikia Poindexter. “It is ridiculous because this is where we have to live.”
Reid said City Council may pass new ordinances to define more clearly what penalties residents could face. She said the city also will run public service announcements on Channel 20 to inform people about the enforcement.
Anyone who wants to participate in the trash can campaign can drop off donations at the public works facility on 1820 Paxton Street from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.