The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce and the DeKalb County Mayor’s office would like to invite residents across the county to participate in the DeKalb County Clean Up on Saturday, May 6. We are encouraging everyone to form teams at your work, neighborhood, or organization, then post pictures with the name of your team to the Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber or DeKalb Clean Up Facebook Page.

The DeKalb Clean Up event will be held in conjunction with the Keep America Beautiful initiative going on across the country.

DeKalb Clean Up volunteers are asked to stop by the DeKalb County Complex on May 6 between 9 and 10 a.m., to sign-in and pick up the provided trash bags, rubber gloves, and bottles of water. We will be taking a group picture at 9:30 a.m., for the media if you like to participate in that. If you can’t be there to sign-in, call the Chamber office at 615-597-4163 to be counted as a DeKalb Clean Up volunteer -- just give your name and the general area where you will be working.

Right now, Keep America Beautiful® is working hard to restore and build more resilient communities across the country to Clean and Green America by 2030! They are doing this through the power of the Keep America Beautiful affiliates, volunteers and partners.

The Great American Clean Up takes place annually with an estimated 500,000 volunteers taking part in 15,000 community events nationwide through programs that deliver positive and lasting impact through events focused on waste reduction, recycling, beautification, and community greening.

County Mayor Matt Adcock says, “We invite people to come out and help clean up around our communities and highways. Folks are welcome to pick up litter at places of their choice, or we will be glad to assign a safe place for you.”

Suzanne Williams, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, would like to remind everyone that DeKalb County’s peak tourism season is about to begin, so now is a great time to start getting things spruced up for our coming visitors. According to Williams, “Working together, we can better ensure that our public places are beautiful and healthy spaces.”

To get a head start on clean up, dumpsters will be set up at highly visible and convenient locations a few days prior to the main event. Dumpster locations will be at the Dowelltown Community Center, Liberty Community Center, Alexandria City Parking Lot (behind square), and the DeKalb County Complex parking lot.

During the week of May 1 to May 6, state-restricted, hazardous-class materials including liquid paint, flammable liquids, asbestos, medical waste, and tires can be taken to Snow’s Hill Dump Site.

You, too, can become part of this growing movement to beautify and unify communities across the country to transform the nation. Whether you’re cleaning up around a street, a highway, park, ballfield, stream, or your own home, what a difference we can make through working together to make our communities safer, healthier, and more livable! For more information, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 615-597-4163.