The third annual Springs Cleaning event will take place from April 20 through April 29.
The event will kick off on Friday, April 20 at the Springs’ local schools – Sonoma Charter School, El Verano Elementary and Flowery Elementary – with an appearance by Sonoma County Supervisor Valerie Brown and Richard Dale of the Sonoma Ecology Center.
Some 1,200 free reusable shopping bags will be distributed to students and teachers. The bright blue bags, displaying the logo of the Sonoma Ecology Center, will be filled with educational materials about all the recycling opportunities in Sonoma Valley. Local businesses, including the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, Sonoma Valley Bank, Arroyo Veterinary Hospital and Moore Recycling Associates, Inc. are covering the cost of the bags.
A scrap art contest will also be held with students’ entries to be judged by local dignitaries the following Friday, April 27.
Other planned events include rummage sales at local businesses, including Arroyo Veterinary Hospital and other organizations and residences over the weekend of April 21-22.
The Valley of the Moon Teen Center will be accepting used bicycles for their program in which they fix up and then donate bikes to kids in need in the community. They also will be conducting a graffiti eradication campaign where residents can request help if graffiti has been identified in their neighborhood.
There will also be neighborhood cleanups organized by “block captains” the following weekend, April 28-29. Sonoma County Waste Management has agreed to handle the disposal from these cleanup activities.
In addition, PG&E is inviting residences and businesses to get rid of old, working refrigerators and freezers in exchange for a $35 cash incentive. Other appliances such as old washing machines, dryers and dishwashers can be picked up at curbside for a fee. PG&E customers can call JACO at 800.299.7573 for appliance pick up.
All of these activities are aimed at cleaning up the Springs but the real value is in the campaign to create awareness of the many recycling opportunities available to local residents by sending a message about recycling home with the students.
