Ever wonder what it takes to make Lebanon the cleanest city in Indiana? According to the Help Make Lebanon the Cleanest City in Indiana organization, the answer is YOU. This initiative, started by the Lebanon Rotary in 2011, is aimed at improving the quality of life in our community by cleaning up our streets and neighborhoods.
RadioMom was one of the first organizations to adopt a spot!
The official mission of the organization is: “To make the City of Lebanon the cleanest city in Indiana through education, promotion & leadership while raising expectations & encourage participation from community leaders & individuals.” They accomplish this through events such as their upcoming Annual Spring Clean-up, Throwaway Thursday Clean-ups, Adopt-A Spot and Adopt-A-Bucket programs, as well as educational programs like Clean City Kids.
Chamber Impact Award
The Help Make Lebanon the Cleanest City in Indiana organization is run by volunteers who meet on the first or second Friday of the month at Ulen Country Club. The Lebanon Rotary founded the group at the suggestion of long time member Jerry Erskine, who was inspired by a trip he made to Norway. Erskine then served as the chairman at the group’s inception. After the first couple of years, the Rotary realized this undertaking should become a community project and turned it into a public organization. The Rotary still lends its support; in fact, the current chairman, Jennifer Lawrence, is a Rotarian. Lawrence, who is also the Executive Director of the Boone County Solid Waste Management District, notes that the efforts of groups like this are appreciated by municipalities because it takes a community effort to a keep city clean.
Burcham Signs
Women of Rotary
There are a number of ways that you can participate in helping to make Lebanon the cleanest city in Indiana. In fact, now is a great time to put together a team of friends, family members, a church group, or co-workers to participate in the Annual Spring Clean-up. This event will span the weekend of May 14 – 16, 2020, with applications due on April 24. Groups and individuals are asked to register for this event because it is carefully orchestrated to cover as much of Lebanon as possible. Teams are assigned to specific areas or neighborhoods. Individuals who want to participate will be assigned to teams based on location or preference. On Friday, May 14, team leaders will attend a kick-off breakfast and receive supplies and T-shirts. The teams then have through Sunday, May 16, to clean up their designated areas.
If the Annual Spring Clean-up weekend is not convenient for you, there are other ways to help throughout the year. Businesses, churches, families, neighborhood associations, and groups of any size can Adopt-A-Spot. This involves keeping a specific area, usually approximately four blocks or a quarter mile, as clean as possible. The area is marked by a sign recognizing the group that has adopted the spot.
The Adopt-A-Bucket program provides businesses with cigarette butt collection containers. This can make a huge local impact since these small filters are the most common type of litter on earth and create toxic trash that takes years to degrade.
There are also other smaller commitments throughout the year, such as Throwaway Thursdays, where participants gather to clean up a designated area.
Information on all of these events is available on Facebook at both the “Help Make Lebanon: The Cleanest City in Indiana” and “Boone County Solid Waste Management District” pages. You can also find registration forms and sign up to receive the “Waste Watch” newsletter at the Boone County Solid Waste Manager District website, Boone County Solid Waste.
Why not do your part to Help Make Lebanon the Cleanest City in Indiana?
