In an effort to make a significant difference, the Town of Mentor came together for another Cleanup Day. It’s an opportunity for all residents to dispose of their unwanted items. The idea for a Cleanup Day was born during a town hall meeting. In that meeting 3 years ago concerned citizens voiced their wish for the Town to host annual clean sweeps. A designated day where residents could dispose of old Appliances, Mattresses, Furniture, Tires, and other unwanted or hard to get rid of items.
This years event was held on Saturday Aug 12th.
Flyers were sent to all residents to let everyone know about the upcoming event and regular updates were also provided to residents via the Town’s Facebook page.
There were 5 workers, Mitch, James, Mike, Rebecca, and Jack. Mitch managed the T.V’s and Freon appliances, Rebecca took care of Tire Collection, invoicing and traffic control, James operated the Front / End Loader to do all the heavy lifting and consolidating. Jack & Mike helped the residents unload their trucks, trailers, and also helped with traffic control.
The event was scheduled to start at 9am but by 8:30am the line of residents with truck and trailer loads was growing. So rather than wait for the line to get bigger, unloading began early at 8:30.
The unloading started with a flurry, but residents were very happy with smiles and laughter. It was like an opportunity for old friends to say hi and take a minute to catch up. As the day progressed, the piles of collected recyclables and junk grew higher. The two 30 ton dumpsters filled quickly forcing the use of a designated overflow area where a 3rd dumpster will be needed.
The town contracted with several vendors to take all the collected items.
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GFL – Was originally only 2 dumpsters, but 3 were required. These dumpsters were for junk that wasn’t metal or electronics.
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Cooley’s Scrap & Salvage – a single 40 ton dumpster dedicated for all non-Freon scrap metal items
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First Choice Recycling – 12 pallets with 6 gaylord boxes to collect all T.V.’s, Computers, and other Electronics. They also collected the Freon appliances like refrigerators, freezers, and A/C units.
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Liberty Tire Recycling – Collected the junk tires turned in by residents
By day’s end all dumpsters were full, with the overflow area ready to fill another. There were 5 pallets stacked of old TV’s, a big box full of old air conditioners, and another box filled with computers & electronics. There were also 8 or 9 refrigerators along with over 100 old tires collected.
Final totals collected:
- over 3 tons of T.V’s, Electronics, and Freon appliances.
- 114 Tires
- 90 tons of junk
- 40 tons of mixed iron
All in all the day’s event was a huge success. But more importantly, there was sense of camaraderie and positivity. It was evident that this Cleanup Day had evolved into something more profound than a mere tidying-up task. It had become in some small way, a celebration of unity and shared responsibility. Where residents came together in a concerted effort to show pride for the town in which they live.
