March 10, 2021 - The Great American Cleanup is the nation’s largest community improvement program that Fort Wayne has participated in for nearly 30 years. It’s a time when we can show our community pride by lending a hand to clean up littered roadsides, parks, trails and river ways. A clean city makes a difference. With the help of volunteers, Fort Wayne can come together and show how much we care about our community’s neighborhoods and public spaces.
Volunteers are invited to join this year’s Great American Cleanup the morning of Saturday, May 1, 2021. Since cleanup efforts take place outside, and it’s easy to stay at least six feet apart, this is a great way to see family, friends, co-workers, classmates, neighborhood associations, faith-based organizations or any other group you can encourage to come out to help. Although it takes only a few hours to clean, it makes a huge difference when a lot of people participate.
The City of Fort Wayne will provide groups with garbage bags, gloves, and T-shirts. Volunteers are asked to pre-register at cityoffortwayne.org/greatamericancleanup between Friday, March 12 and Friday, April 9. For more information, please call the City of Fort Wayne Solid Waste Department at 260-427-1345.
Staff members from the Solid Waste Department will coordinate and assign locations to ensure areas with the most need are addressed, but groups may pick an area of their choice if they have identified a location. The clean-up process will begin between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. on May 1.
In 2020, 2,046 volunteers contributed 6,138 hours during the Great American Cleanup and collected more than 92,660 pounds of litter and debris from neighborhoods, parks, riverbanks and roadsides. Volunteer participation did drop last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Great American Cleanup™ is the country's largest beautification and community improvement effort.