Crumpled and ripped phonebooks, cigarette butts, Cheeto bags and broken beer bottles began to accumulate and dirty up the sidewalks and streets in my neighborhood last summer. This summer, people in the Holland neighborhood in Northeast Minneapolis noticed an increase in litter – particularly under the bridge on 24th and Washington near Edison High School. What was interesting was seeing how the neighborhood came together to deal with it.
“The last three years we have noticed it right along this street. Now that we are homeowners we don’t want to see this street totally trashed all the time, and it’s just getting worse,” said Liz Backdahl, who lives near the bridge and keeps a trash bag handy in her car. “It’s like people drive by here and empty their trash. We don’t see them do it. I wish we could so we could report them.”
Littering is a misdemeanor and if a person is convicted, the offense will go on their driving record. A second offense carries a minimum fine of $400 and a maximum of $700. A judge can require the offender to pick up litter along public roads or even impose a jail sentence.
Backdahl, who has lived in Northeast Minneapolis for 12 years, ordered a garbage can from the city to put alongside her boulevard about eight steps away from the bridge. But it hasn’t changed; she is still seeing trash everywhere. “We don’t know [why litter is increasing]. We were wracking our brains why the last few weekends, Friday and Saturday night, they’re littering. I can’t believe people are so inconsiderate, ”
Backdahl said that she sees all kinds of trash, mostly newspaper, but there are often beer and booze bottles and pop cans.
Where exactly is this trash coming from? “I’m out here every day picking it up,” said George Dupay, who has lived in the neighborhood all his life. He says it comes from people who shop at convenience stores, purchase food, eat it before they get home, and they throw the trash in his yard.
At the Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association meetings, held the second Thursday of each month, there is a real sense of community. People might come for different reasons, but they are all there to improve their neighborhood and show their concern. People say they love Northeast for its shopping and convenient bus routes for easy access to and from downtown.
Carol Nagan said this community is involved in helping make Northeast a better place for everyone. After the turn of the century, it was a popular destination for Eastern European immigrants, and today it is filled with so many different people, cultures, and religions.
In response to the trash problem, the HNIA walkers club meets every Tuesday night at Jackson Square Park to walk, pick up trash, and look for suspicious behavior. Adelheid Koski is quick to express concern about the increased trash. At one neighborhood meeting this summer, she complained that many business and restaurant owners do not pick up around their properties on Central Ave. Koski, a board member who attends HNIA meetings and the walkers club, often calls 311, the city’s non-emergency hotline, to complain about trash and other concerns on her block.
This neighborhood is doing all they can, neighbors say. They even talked about adopting Central or Lowry Ave. to make sure the streets are cleaned.
“I really do think it [trash] makes our neighborhood look worse. Nobody wants to live in a neighborhood with trash around,” said Nagan, another member of the neighborhood board and walkers’ group. Nagan said she always says something when she sees people litter. To her surprise, “Many of them will go back and pick it up. You just have to speak up.”
What can the city do? Council member Paul Ostrow, who represents Northeast neighborhoods, said the law requires that property owners remove trash from within 100 feet of their property. If they fail to do so, they will be given a citation. If they still fail to clean up the trash, they can be fined.
Northeast has had clean-up events and many ways for volunteers to help out. One was “Weed it and Weep,” a day where volunteers went around the neighborhood with trash bags. Another option is calling 311 to complain.
“If you see someone in the process of littering, I would encourage you to call 311. That’s the best,” Ostrow said.
Post new comment