Pick It Up – Toss No Más World Water Day Cleanup Event on
Saturday, March 21st from 9 am – 12 pm at Gila Community Foundation parking lot

It's March and the Silver City Pick It Up - Toss No Más program is celebrating World Water Day during our next monthly community litter cleanup on March 21st. Water is essential to life, but it's easy to take for granted. We celebrate this annual day of observance as a reminder to honor the water we use to drink, cook, bathe, garden, flush, and recreate and remember that all the other organisms in our environment rely on this precious resource as well. This month, we're encouraging everyone to preserve and protect our finite local water resources: perform a water audit to understand how much water your household is using, plant a rain garden near a curb cut or downspout, or volunteer to clean litter out of our streams, ditches, and other local waterways!

World Water Day is a United Nations annual day of observance focused on the importance of clean water and sanitation systems. World Water Day is a day to celebrate the importance of water to human societies and also raise awareness for those that can't access it. 2.1 billion people around the world live without access to safe water. Let's work together to keep our local waterways clean and safe!

Volunteering for just a few hours per month can make a big difference to our town and our water supply. If you would like to join our community cleanup, grab a friend or your family and meet us at the Gila Community Foundation parking lot at 1106 North Pope Street from 9am to noon. We’ll have trash bags, gloves, trash pickers, and snacks. Once you pick up your supplies, go to your favorite neighborhood or problem area you know about: a hillside where trash blows in the wind, a street with litter in the gutters, or a trail system with a buildup of abandoned wrappers and bottles. Volunteers can return to the parking lot to drop off all litter and debris between 11am and noon.

Thank you to our partners at the New Mexico Department of Transportation for hauling away collected trash to the landfill!

Volunteers should bring a water bottle and wear closed-toe shoes, a sun hat, sunscreen, and layers. Children 17 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Families with younger children are encouraged to clean up litter in their neighborhood, local parks or waterways as children under 12 are not permitted on state highways for the cleanup.

Check out the Pick It Up-Toss No Mas website www.silvercitytossnomas.org to sign up to volunteer and to learn about litter prevention opportunities, the business pledge program, Adopt-A-Roadway or Waterway program, and solid waste disposal and recycling resources.

Volunteers are the foundation of the Pick It Up – Toss No Mas program. Since October 2021, over 1,065 volunteers have picked up over 33,252 pounds of trash, debris, and recyclables from Highways 180 and 90, Silver City neighborhoods, Big Ditch Park, San Vicente Creek, Pinos Altos Creek, and other urban riparian areas.

Thank you to each and every one of our volunteers, organizations, and partners who do all this work! We are incredibly thankful for the amazing monthly turnouts and support in our collective effort to keep Silver City clean and beautiful.

Monthly Pick It Up – Toss No Mas clean-up events are held the third Saturday of every month. Community members can also adopt a roadway or waterway to take care of and clean up throughout the year. On top of that, Pick It Up – Toss No Mas can provide guidance for those who would like to put on their own clean up event, helping to supply the trash pickers, trash bags and gloves for your event.

Pick It Up – Toss No Mas community cleanup events are sponsored by the Town of Silver City, New Mexico Clean and Beautiful, Silver City Watershed Keepers, Silver City MainStreet, SWNMACT, Southwest Solid Waste Authority, Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce, and New Mexico Department of Transportation’s Que Linda Program.

More information for the event can be found at silvercitytossnomas.org or contact Alesia Hallmark at 575-538-8078 or via email at pickituptossnomas@gmail.com