Can Fresno surpass 13,200 lbs. of litter cleared? State names city a

Fresno has become the first city in the state to sign on to the Clean California Community campaign, officially pledging to continue its ongoing efforts to clean up litter across the community.

Caltrans officials will formally announce the launch of the Clean California Community program on Saturday, as part of Mayor Jerry Dyer’s fourth annual Citywide Community CleanUP day. Caltrans, the state highway department, is the lead agency spearheading the Clean California initiative on behalf of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“Fresno has demonstrated its commitment to creating a clean and safe community for its residents,” Newsom said in a prepared statement. “Clean and beautiful public spaces are pillars to community pride, and I hope to see other cities across the state model Fresno’s leadership and pledge to become a Clean California Community.”

“We all deserve to be proud of the neighborhoods we live in, and with this program, we’re making that a reality for more Californians than ever,” Newsom added.

Saturday’s community cleanup event, orchestrated by the city’s Beautify Fresno office, was to begin at 8 a.m. targeting locations in downtown, southeast Fresno, West Fresno and Manchester Center in central Fresno. An after-party with food trucks and entertainment is planned to start at 10 a.m. in the parking lot of Manchester Center at Shields and Blackstone avenues.

The city’s August 2023 cleanup day attracted more than 1,200 volunteers who collectively removed about 13,200 pounds of litter and trash from Fresno streets, parks, and riverbanks.

“Fresno is the first city to say, ‘We’ll take the pledge,’ ” Michael Keever, Caltrans’ chief deputy director, told The Fresno Bee. “That’s why we wanted to come to Fresno and encourage others to follow Fresno.”

So far, 22 communities — from local governments to nonprofit organizations — have signed on across the state.

Fresno’s success with its three previous annual cleanup days was a big factor in the state choosing to formally unveil the Clean Community designation at Saturday’s event. “We want to leverage that community pride and continue to fan the flames of those that want to follow this path,” Keever said.

Volunteers pick up trash along Harrison Avenue in north Fresno during a Beautify Fresno “neighborhood blitz” cleanup event on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023.

Caltrans has at times been criticized by Fresno city leaders for being slow to respond to litter and trash problems along state routes running through Fresno, including Highways 99, 41, 168 and 180. But Keever said he believes the working relationship between Caltrans and the city has improved in recent years.

“I believe there’s been a noticeable, visible effort in the community; we’ve picked up some 2.6 million cubic yards of trash, somewhere along the lines of three or four times going back and forth on the 99 picking up trash,” he said. “We’re going to continue to do that. When the city brings things to our attention, we’re going to continue to do our part picking up the trash.”

To earn and maintain the Clean California Community designation, cities and organizations need to accomplish 10 items from a checklist of 15 criteria:

Sign a clean community pledge.
Establish a Clean California committee or advisory body.
Collect community input on cleanup efforts.
Conduct an initial litter assessment.
Organize community cleanups; at least four, either large or small, are recommended each year.
Establish criteria to track progress, such as the number of participating volunteers, number of cleanup events held, and pounds of litter collected.
Raise public awareness of litter with signage or education programs.
Provide youth education programs for grades kindergarten through high school.
Provide anti-litter infrastructure such as trash and recycling bins that are regularly emptied, or increasing street sweeping.
Set policies, technologies or programs to prevent or deter littering.
Develop a long-term litter to reduce litter and maintain a clean community.
Supplement cleanup efforts with other beautification programs such as tree planting, gardens, flower beds or public art.
Schedule collection activities such as “dump days” or “amnesty days” where the public can dispose of hard-to-recycle or bulky household items.
Develop partnerships with local organizations or businesses to support the campaign.
Provide receptacles throughout the city for cigarette butts, which according to Caltrans are “the most widely littered item on Earth.”

Caltrans reports that other places where leaders have signed the pledge for the Clean California Community program include the cities of Bakersfield, Irvine, Los Angeles, Palmdale, Riverside, San Jose and South Yuba City; Santa Clara County; and local organizations in the community of Goshen in Tulare County, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Clearlake Oaks, Needles, Edwards Air Force Base, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland and Pacific Grove.

Volunteers gather as Beautify Fresno director Mark Standriff gives direction before the start of a “neighborhood blitz” cleanup event around Nelson Elementary in north Fresno on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023.

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