Milwaukee neighborhood cleanup, city effort underway

MILWAUKEE - Breeding rodents, pests and blight, illegal dumping causes many issues for many Milwaukee residents. Trash piles and debris litter areas in some residential neighborhoods.

To help clean it up, Milwaukee Sanitation Services is providing roll-off boxes or dumpsters for a neighborhood clean-up effort that kicked off Saturday, April 23.

"Illegal dumping is a citywide problem," said Jeffrey Smith, Milwaukee Sanitation area manager.

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"I called the city, orchestrated, and there it is down there on the corner," said Ray Gray, who organized the drop-off for his block near 39th and Hampton. "It’s a way to take care of spring cleaning."

In the midst of Earth Week, Anthony Mosley wants more communities to take advantage of this program now and beyond.

Residents take part in Milwaukee neighborhood cleanup

"Help to get us back to what the city was," Mosley said. "It makes for a better environment not just for us but for the kids."

Just a couple of hours after the dumpster got dropped off, it was almost completely full. It’s just a small indicator of how much residents say efforts like this are needed.

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"There’s a lot of stuff that needs to be discarded," said Gray. "You have to take pride and the keyword: initiative."

As sanitation workers continue to have their trucks full, they’d prefer proper disposal – taking a load off of city crews and Milwaukee's streets.

Illegal dumping in Milwaukee

"What we really like the neighborhood pulling together," Smith said.

There are 13 boxes available each Saturday from April 23 to July 30. Boxes will be placed between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. and picked up after 4 p.m. the same day. To make a reservation and also see what items are allowed, visit the city’s website.