by Viviane Stackhouse

Approximately 340 College Park residents participated in a fall cleanup and trash collection event held by the College Park Public Works Department on Saturday, Oct. 22, according to College Park Communications and Events Manager, Ryna Quinones.

Cars lined up outside of the public works building, located at 9217 51st Ave., on Saturday morning as staff helped to direct and navigate residents dropping off materials. 

Items collected at the cleanup included fluorescent light bulbs, lamps, tubes, household batteries for recycling, bulky trash and yard trimmings. 

Those participating were required to show proof of College Park residency to staff working the event and were then able to get up to five cubic-yards of wood mulch for free. Non-residents had to purchase the mulch during this event. 

This fall cleanup followed a similar one held earlier in the month on Oct. 8. According to Quinones, more cleanups are expected to be held in the spring. Residents can find these events by using the city calendar on the College Park website, or by following the city on social media accounts. 

“Lots of the off-campus housing in the Old Town section of College Park lets bulky and old trash sit there for weeks. Not only is it an eyesore as I walk to class, it can also get in the way of parking,” said University of Maryland student and housing director for the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority Caroline Edelen.

Edelen attended the event to throw out some of the old furniture from her sorority house. 

“I heard about the event online, and thought it was a great way to clear some space in our house…the event ran smoothly and it was super easy to get rid of what I needed,” Edelen said. 

Quinones said the event was one attempt at making College Park a more sustainable place to live. 

“The city is launching our new curbside food scrap collection program very soon,” Quinones said. “The city is working on increasing our tree canopy and has held events for residents to obtain free trees, and storm drain murals to alert residents about what goes down into our water systems.”

In a press release announced on Oct. 13, Program Manager of Sustainable Maryland Mike Hunninghake announced that College Park was honored as a silver level sustainable municipality. College Park was among just 18 other municipalities to be honored, according to the press release. 

College Park is following neighboring municipalities as they enter into a sustainable future. According to the press release, 57% of Maryland municipalities have registered to be a part of Sustainable Maryland and 26% of Maryland municipalities are now certified.

Featured Image: College Park Public Works staff direct cars and check residents into the city cleanup event at the public works building on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. Photo by Viviane Stackhouse.