A "litter index" compiled by board members and volunteers shows litter conditions and dump sites in Springfield seem to be on the decline.
Michael Cass, left, who works with the city's graffiti remediation project, and Melvin Edwards, president of Keep Springfield Beautiful, examine a trash site Monday near Oakwood Terrace and Goldenrod Street, which is slated to be cleaned up April 30 in a citywide anti-litter effort.SPRINGFIELD - A grassroots group currently preparing for a volunteer citywide cleanup on April 30 is pleased that a recent survey of litter conditions across Springfield showed overall improvements, according to organizers.
Melvin A. Edwards, president of Keep Springfield Beautiful, said he is pleased that litter conditions and dump sites seem to be on the decline, based on last week’s four-hour van tour of Springfield and a “litter index” compiled by board members and volunteers.
The index is an measurement of litter conditions conducted annually both before and after the annual cleanup, Edwards said.
“It’s gotten better - each year it seems to have gotten better,” Edwards said. “The city is certainly heading in the right direction. It has been a team effort.”
The team includes Keep Springfield Beautiful, the city’s Clean Cities crew and Park Department, the Sheriffs Department, neighborhood councils, many businesses and volunteers, said Edwards and Michael Cass, a founding board member.
“We’re the best,” Cass said of Keep Springfield Beautiful. “We’re the watchdogs of the city.”
Cass also works for the city as graffiti remediation program director.
There are five people riding as passengers in the van who grade the litter conditions in each of the city’s 17 neighborhoods. The scores are as follows: 1. no litter; 2. slightly littered; 3. littered; and 4. extremely littered.
The scoring team tries to keep the mileage evenly balanced in each neighborhood, Edwards said.
The two neighborhoods with the worst scores were Old Hill with a 3.84, and Forest Park with a 3.76. The neighborhoods with the best scores were Metro Center and Brightwood (1.16), followed closely by Sixteen Acres (1.22) and East Forest Park (1.26).
Some of the worst litter conditions seem to be in poorer areas where there is a higher concentration of rental properties and absentee landlords, Edwards said.
The cleanup on April 30 will involve hundreds of volunteers spread out in the four designated zones of the city.
Since its affiliation with Keep America Beautiful in 2007, Keep Springfield Beautiful has recruited 6,000 volunteers, collected 893,000 pounds of trash and debris, and cleaned 100 miles of streets, six miles of railroad tracks, 10 acres of playgrounds and 70 illegal dumpsites, according to the group’s statistics.
Edwards said urban blight is a “systemic disease” that reduces property values and discourages commerce and homebuyers.
“A connected community is the most powerful catalyst for positive change,” Edwards said. “To truly turn Springfield around, all sectors - public, private and nonprofit - must be united and engaged in the effort.”