Mayor Joyce: More than 20K pounds of litter removed over 8 months
Work release participants from the local West Virginia Department of Corrections facility stand with trash collected earlier this month at Parkersburg’s recycling center and Sanitation Department. (Photo Provided)
Debris and items picked up April 12 around Pike Street in Parkersburg by West Virginia Department of Corrections work release participants are shown. (Photo Provided)
Work release participants from the local West Virginia Department of Corrections facility stand with trash collected earlier this month at Parkersburg’s recycling center and Sanitation Department. (Photo Provided)
Debris and items picked up April 12 around Pike Street in Parkersburg by West Virginia Department of Corrections work release participants are shown. (Photo Provided)
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PARKERSBURG -- Over the last eight months, the City of Parkersburg has coordinated the removal of more than 10 tons of litter.
Mayor Tom Joyce on Tuesday announced the collection of an estimated 20,410 pounds of litter, saying it's part of a program started in 2019 with the help of a Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan (R.E.A.P.) grant from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
The grant funds the overtime wages of Patrolman 1st Class Todd Lambiotte, who supervises cleanup activities by work release participants from the state Department of Corrections facility in Parkersburg.
"This program hit the pause button during the height of the pandemic, but the past several months has seen the program reimplemented and those efforts are proving impactful to the gateways into Parkersburg and other areas where litter and detritus are prevalent," Joyce said in a news release. "It has proven highly effective, and the reported volumes collected prove that.
"These efforts not only provide beautification in the City of Parkersburg but also afford those on the path to rehabilitation the opportunity to relearn the merits of hard work and accomplishment, which is important and meaningful as they prepare for re-entry into society," he said.
Joyce said he regularly receives positive feedback about the efforts.