Keeping Fallbrook Litter Free program kicks off

FALLBROOK – "Keeping Fallbrook Litter Free" is the goal of the Fallbrook Beautification Alliance for 2019. The program kickoff and first communitywide cleanup will be held Saturday, Jan. 12, from 9 a.m. to noon at Don Dussault County Park, 832 Alturas Road, near downtown Fallbrook.

Fallbrook residents are asked to stop by the park, starting at 9 a.m., to hear more about the program and to clean up the park and surrounding streets and neighborhoods, starting at 10 a.m. and led by I Love A Clean San Diego.

Don Dussault County Park in Fallbrook offers a fenced children's playground in a small neighborhood park; however, the streets and open space surrounding the park are often littered with trash.

After years of hosting semiannual cleanups around Fallbrook, the Fallbrook Beautification Alliance recognized that an ongoing effort, engaging volunteers throughout the year, would be a more effective way to address the trash problem along local roadways, ravines, parks and neighborhoods.

Partnering with I Love A Clean San Diego and Adopt-A-Road, Todd Jester of the Fallbrook Public Utility District and Marta Donovan, director of the Fallbrook Beautification Alliance, divided central Fallbrook into 20 zones, covering 49 square miles in total.

The program goal is for a "zone captain" to adopt each zone and, working with a team of volunteers, to keep that zone trash free. Each volunteer is challenged to pick up at least one 5-gallon bucket worth of litter each week.

The Fallbrook Beautification Alliance offers each participant who enrolls a safety vest, a 5-gallon bucket, a litter grabber and work gloves. With the help of the zone captains, the group will track the program's success based on the amount of trash collected monthly, and the results will be posted on the organization's website.

Studies have shown that trash left on streets and parks may decrease property values, spread disease and make these areas less pedestrian and children friendly. With approximately 80 percent of coastal trash coming from inland watersheds, volunteers are making a difference in the ocean's health as well as in local creek beds, canyons and communities.

Volunteers attending the kick-off event can learn how to become a zone captain, create a team or join an existing team. Additionally, Fallbrook Beautification Alliance provides credits to volunteers in need of school community service hours.

The existing zone captains and unassigned zones include Zone 1 – Victoria Stover, Zone 2 – Jean Dooley, Zone 3 – Tasha Dasso, Zone 4 – Carina Perez, Zone 5 – Marta Donovan, Zone 6 – available, Zone 7 – available, Zone 8 – Todd Jester, Zone 9 – Scott Gallan, Zone 10 – available, Zone 11 – Susan Jackson, Zone 12 – Sheryl Gonda, Zone 13 – Mary Jo Bacik, Zone 14 – available, Zone 15 – Lynne Johnson, Zone 16 – available, Zone 17 – Brenda Carden, Zone 18 Anne Edgerton, Zone 19 – Nancy Heins-Glaser and Claudia Watson and Zone 20 – available.

To see which zone a home or business is in, visit https://arcg.is/0irSqC.

Additional helpful information to "Keep Fallbrook Litter Free"

If someone has an item to dispose of that is too large to fit in to a trash can or dumpster, contact the local trash collector. For most residents in Fallbrook, that collector is EDCO Waste and Recycling Company; call (760) 728-6114 to schedule a pickup or to find out how to dispose of it properly.

Furniture or other large items in good condition can be donated to local thrift stores. Anyone who comes across such items dumped illegally on county property can call (858) 694-3850 for county pickup.

Anyone unable to attend the Jan. 12 kick-off event who is interested in receiving more information about the program can contact coordinator Marta Donovan at (760) 405-4054.

Fallbrook Beautification Alliance maintains and beautifies Fallbrook through graffiti removal programs, public art cleaning, battery recycling and maintenance of the Pico Promenade, Military Welcome Home Tribute, Jackie Heyneman Park, Mission Medians and Flower Pots on Main Avenue.

All volunteers are required to fill out a waiver form to participate and anyone under the age of 18 needs the waiver signed by their parent or guardian. For more information, visit http://www.fallbrookbeautification.org.

Submitted by Fallbrook Beautification Alliance.