BUCKHANNON – April is Make it Shine month to help kick-start spring cleaning with free services and community events.
The City of Buckhannon and the Upshur County Commission officially proclaimed April Make it Shine Month on Thursday in collaboration with the Upshur County Solid Waste Authority and the city’s waste department.
Callie Cronin Sams, the information coordinator and grant writer for the City of Buckhannon, said Make it Shine is a statewide effort.
“There’s also the West Virginia Make it Shine, which is organized by the Department of Environmental Protection as a statewide effort to encourage people to clean up their properties and clean up roadways, public places and parks during April, and especially the first two weeks of April,” Sams said.
On Friday, April 12 you can help cleanup at the city park at 3 p.m.; register ahead of time on the Buckhannon Volunteer Center website. There will be activities for kids, so bring the whole family and help spruce up the park for the warm months ahead.
Sams said one reason they chose April 12 for Make it Shine events is because it is also Global Youth Service day.
“Since it is Global Youth Service Day, we hope we can get youth out for that cleanup and at 1:30 p.m. at Jawbone we will also be having a little celebration for Arbor Day,” Sams said.
During Make it Shine month, anyone who pays for waste collection through the city can go to the transfer station on Mud Lick Road with up to two truck loads of waste and dispose of it free of charge.
The free disposal dates for city residents are April 6 and April 27 from 7:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. For county residents the dates are April 13 and 27 at the same times. People taking part in the free drop-off are asked to bring photo identification and a recent utility bill.
The Upshur County Solid Waste Authority is also organizing a Crossroads Celebration of Recycling on Friday, April 12 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, April 13 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Burl Smith with the Upshur County Solid Waste Authority said the event will help educate people on proper recycling.
“We encourage you to stop by and one of the reasons we do that is people love to recycle, but if they don’t do it properly, it creates some real problems,” Smith said.
The state also has it’s Adopt a Highway or Adopt a Spot program, and their statewide cleanup will take place April 27.
A quick roadmap to the Make It Shine activities:
- Celebration of Recycling: At the Crossroads Recycling Center (near Walmart) on April 12 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m and April 13 from 9 a.m to 1 p.m.
- Free disposal days: At the transfer station on Mud Lick Road for city customers on April 6 and April 27 and for county customers on April 13 and April 27, from 7:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. each day
- City Park cleanup: At Buckhannon City Park on Park Street on April 12 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
