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With a new year on the calendar, it was time to conduct another Pinoleville Pomo Nation reservation cleanup for the Spring. With help from EPA’s General Assistance Program funding we’ve been able to build upon the success of our reservation cleanups in 2015 with the biggest effort yet!
Similar to our previous PPN reservation cleanups before, we provided Pinoleville Citizens with all the nitrile gloves they can handle as well as compostable trash bags manufactured by Allstate Plastics (slide 13). The bags are a great way to educate the public about their options when it comes to waste. The bags will even degrade into carbon dioxide, water and compost (bio-waste) in the presence of oxygen and UV light!
In addition to the bags, we also provided each participant with a magnetized “Spring Cleanup Guide” handout (download yours here) that explained the process while also educating them about recyclable items and hazardous wastes. The cleanup guide was helpful to let everyone know exactly how and where to dispose of their waste.
By the end of the two-week process it was safe to say it was a major success. According to the folks at Waste Management, the reservation cleanup generated 2.41 tons of waste, which is our biggest load yet! And when you think about the bigger picture of processing more than two tons of waste through the proper channels, as opposed to public dumping, it’s an even bigger success.
We look forward to continuing our solid waste outreach efforts in August as we follow up the Pinoleville Pomo Nation Big Time event with another cleanup effort. Don’t forget to download your own “Spring Cleanup Guide” here (right click, save as).