Volunteers turn out to clean Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — For the 16th consecutive year, volunteers gathered in droves for Vision 2020’s annual citywide cleanup.

Volunteers, which numbered in excess of 150, divided up into groups Saturday morning and spread out into different areas and neighborhoods throughout Moses Lake to collect trash and litter for disposal.

Lakeside Disposal and Recycling lent a helping hand by providing a garbage truck to compact and dispose of all the trash collected. Volunteers brought full bags of trash back to the meeting location behind Porterhouse Steakhouse, and Lakeside Disposal took it for disposal. Porterhouse Steakhouse also got in on the civic activity by providing a free barbecue lunch Saturday afternoon for the massive cleanup crew.

Volunteers gathered at 8 a.m. Saturday morning to plan their assault on the city’s runaway trash. Groups filed in and out all morning long, with a steady stream of participants trickling in for assignment throughout the morning. Many volunteers donned light vests and suited up with gloves and trash bags.

Alan Heroux, who has helped organize the citywide cleanup since its inception in 2000, said the success of the event is really the result of efforts by civic groups like the Moses Lake Business Association and the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce, local businesses, and miscellaneous citizens who just want to help.

A number of Moses Lake’s organizations and businesses do more than their fair share in the citywide cleanup efforts. Heroux said some organizations provide groups of several dozen volunteers, like AkzoNobel Eka, Columbia Basin Job Corps. and various local church groups.

Throughout the years, the event has always benefited from a high level of participation. Heroux said in its most down year, the citywide cleanup had 150 volunteers and on up years, the event has drawn cleanup crews of 400 or more.

The cleanup was scheduled to run from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, but Heroux said some volunteers trickle in even later. Their efforts make a difference, he said, and they have from the start. The first year, he said the amount of trash that was collected filled two large dumpsters to the point that the lids would not close.

Heroux said each year, the amount of trash that is collected is typically multiple tons.

“When they (Lakeside Disposal) bring the truck, they compact it, so they go by ton, they don’t go by volume,” Heroux said. “We usually pick up a couple tons of garbage. It’s amazing, especially when you think of roadside garbage as usually just lightweight litter.”

That’s a lot of garbage, which shows the dedication of the many folks who show up for a few hours once a year to do their part in making Moses Lake shine, Heroux said.

“It’s actually been a really good project. I’ve been involved since day one and pretty much coordinated the pick-ups,” he said. “Every year, we get a lot of the same groups that are really good, dedicated folks that are just trying to make Moses Lake look as good as we can.”

Ryan Minnerly can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.