Residents across St. Joseph urged to join spring clean-up

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- A local group is encouraging community members to engage in clean-up activities across St. Joseph during April. 

Organizers with Beautify St. Joseph hosted a 12-block clean-up event in Downtown during the weekend and are asking the public to help with additional efforts all month long. 

“Our mission this year is to promote awareness of litter in the city and show other people how to become part of the solution,” said Terry Turbak, chair of Beautify St. Joseph. “Everything from individual efforts all the way up to group efforts. We want people to participate on their own level according to their own ability.” 

In April, the organization is promoting a "No Trash Tuesday" campaign that asks people to pick up any litter they see on the ground. 

“If you see it on a Tuesday, go pick it up, take a picture and post it on our Facebook group of Beautify St. Joseph,” Turbak said. “At the end of the month, we will choose someone who posted on Tuesdays, and we will give them a prize.” 

Starting on April 1, Beautify St. Joseph and volunteers will be picking up trash along a stretch of Faraon from 32nd to 36th streets.

In addition, volunteers can help by participating in other events, including the Harris-Kemper Neighborhood cleanup on Friday, April 11, and a one-week cleanup Missouri Western athletes will help with across town starting on Sunday, April 13.  

"There's about 70,000 people in St. Joe and if everybody in town picked up one piece of trash in one day, it would be about 70,000 pieces of trash off the streets," Turbak said.

Additional events can be viewed on the Beautify St. Joseph event calendar at www.beautifystjoseph.org.