Annual Clean Valley Day
 April 5, 2008


Roanoke City Sheriff's Department organized this work effort on Marshall Avenue.

For more information call 345-5523 or to sign up return the Registration Form.

What is the first sign of spring? The robin you say? Not.
It's a VDOT orange bag at the roadside.

What that means is the trash you see on the streets, byways, walkways, waterways and in parks and on paths is YOURS.  You may not have thrown it there, but by default it is yours to deal with. I believe this because if you care – just imagine how beautiful our region would be if we ALL just pitched in a little bit more and we were shiny clean. If each business/homeowner checked their front walks or parking lots every morning and picked up the litter...what a beautiful place this would be. (I know; song lyrics.)

                                                 What can you do?

The activities are a plentiful. You can adopt a spot. You may plant a tree. You may help a neighbor. You might build a community team to pick up an entire block or street. There are alleys in need of trash removal. How about your neighborhood park? Stream? Creek? Greenway? Clean the City gateway/entryway. Plant a neighborhood garden. See. Lots to do.

Get out those company/church/scout t-shirts and promote the business.

Plan a picnic at the end of the project. Promote your stewardship to the public. If your street is littered – it is not a pleasant place to visit. If your fast food property is filled with litter, YUCK! It is a fact this time of year- litter is out there. Clean it up. Have fun. Work together.

  

Litter. It Just Isn’t Natural.

All across Virginia this spring folks are doing a clean up. Litter – It Just Isn’t Natural is the first statewide campaign in 10 years. Our clean up is 29 years old. Be one of our hundreds... VOLUNTEER!

How to begin?

You will need to pre register. Choose your team. Pick your target for clean up. Think safety issues for your team. (No big highways or deep waters for youth.) When you register, you will receive bags and gloves and a tiny gift. Your trash will be collected in most cases by your government trucks.

Who helps?

The partners are Volunteers, Orvis, Clean Valley Council, the Roanoke Times, the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority, VDOT, the counties of Botetourt and Roanoke, the City of Roanoke, City of Salem and the Town of Vinton.

Registration Information

Call Clean Valley Council at 540-345-5523, email or come to the Clean Valley Council offices at the Jefferson Center, 541 Luck Avenue, Suite 319.

  • Clubs, churches, schools, civic organizations, businesses, and neighborhood groups are encouraged to join in this valley - wide effort. 

  • Any park, neighborhood, roadside, stream bank, or vacant lot which has unsightly litter is a suitable target for this spring project.

  • Groups may select a specific site, or Clean Valley Council will suggest areas needing attention. If a group selects a site on private property, the owner's permission must be obtained in writing. We hope you outdoor athletes will consider your favorite park or running route, or bicycle route - or take a good creative look at your own neighborhood as a potential target.

  • Volunteers are provided with trash bags and Clean Valley Day souvenir work gloves. Refuse collection vehicles from the five municipalities or V-DOT will pick up all trash bags if they are left at the curb near the area cleaned. 

  • Landfill passes will be available for 
    individuals wishing to haul their own trash. Trash pick-up and landfill passes are good for Clean Valley Day only. 

  • Groups doing clean-ups on alternative 
    dates must make their own arrangements for trash disposal. 

Clean Valley Day is the area's largest annual volunteer clean up effort. Collection last year involved 80 teams and over 1600 volunteers who collected 126 tons of litter. Call it responsibility, passion or pride - this is not only a day to spruce up the Valley but to educate about litter control and civic pride.