2,000 Pounds Of Litter Gone From Elsinore, Wildomar, Canyon Lake

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — It was nearly 100 degrees in Lake Elsinore during the last weekend of June, but that didn't stop nearly 200 volunteers, nonprofits, and community organizations from mobilizing for the sake of the environment.

As part of a new countywide pollution prevention initiative called “Love Your Neighborhood,” a June 26 kickoff event was held in Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake, and Wildomar. The result: nearly 2,000 pounds of litter and dozens of bulky waste items removed from the communities.

The new Love Your Neighborhood program is administered by the Western Riverside Council of Governments and supported through a sponsorship with Riverside County Watershed Protection Program.

The effort aims to partner with Riverside County cities to host local cleanup events of their own and encourages residents to participate in reducing litter and other pollutants in their neighborhoods and beyond.

During last month's event, volunteers met at the Lake Elsinore Storm Stadium and efforts were coordinated by the City of Lake Elsinore in partnership with the cities of Canyon Lake and Wildomar.

Volunteers were provided with trash pickers, trash bags, reusable gloves, and wristbands. They collected items ranging from food wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic bags, and tire and automobile debris, to large appliances with the help of public works crews.

“Our family really enjoyed coming out today to help remove unwanted litter from our neighborhood and surrounding areas,” Ashlee DePhillippo said. “As a resident, I think it’s important that we address issues like pollution together as a community if we want to be successful in beautifying where we live.”

The Love Your Neighborhood program tracks the number of pollutants removed from communities in support of meeting stormwater mandates and other environmental objectives, according to WRCOG.

The real-time data collected during Love Your Neighborhood events also help track key issues related to pollution such as litter, recycling, over-watering, and household hazardous waste disposal, the agency said.

To help support the initiatives, residents can document their own clean-up activities on the program’s website at wrcog.us/316/Love-your-Neighborhood