Portland State Magazine Fall 2021

FALL 2021 // 21 Cleaning up the city As COVID-19 restrictions started, most of the city’s clearing of illegal dump sites and roadside litter stopped. The result was trash. A lot of trash. In a May survey sponsored by The Oregonian, respon- dents named a cleaner downtown as one of their top priorities for making the city more appealing, notes Kris Carico ’97, CEO of SOLVE. Carico is co-chair of Mayor Ted Wheeler’s Clean & Green Action Table, one of five committees Wheeler convened this spring to address prob- lems facing the city. Cleanliness ranked higher at 70% than less crime (67%), restaurants, bars and theaters reopening (61%) and fewer protests (55%). Responding to that need, the 50-member coalition led by Carico holds monthly events to support cleanup efforts aimed at improving Portland’s livability.These are focused on picking up litter, hauling away illegal dumping, cleaning streets, and removing graffiti, human waste and abandoned cars. A staff member and about 30 SOLVE volunteers attend each cleanup, she says. Usually the organization attracts 30,000 volunteers annually to cleanup events but has gained even more in 2021. “This year, the number of volunteers has gone up notice- ably,” she says. A few reasons: “People feel compelled to help because of the conditions the city has experienced over the last year; being able to do the work outdoors makes volunteers feel safer; and there is a tangible effect—you can see the results.” You can weigh them, too. At a downtown cleanup in September, SOLVE volunteers collected more than 2,240 pounds of garbage. At another on North Greeley Avenue, they collected 3 tons. “I’m a native Oregonian, and it makes me proud to be part of a community that wants to be part of this,” Carico says. Sharona Shnayder ’20 also has played a role in the monumental task of removing garbage from the streets. She is co-founder and CEO of Tuesdays for Trash, a grassroots effort turned worldwide movement that’s now on every continent except Antarctica. Stuck at home during lockdowns in May 2020, Shnayder and fellow student Wanda McNealy decided to turn frustration into action by picking up trash on Tuesdays, first on the Park Blocks and soon across the city. Spreading the word via Instagram, they encouraged others to get involved and turned Tuesdays for Trash into an LLC. “Tuesdays for Trash contributed to helping Portland make a comeback by revitalizing community in the city,” says Shnayder, who has relocated to Israel and works for an environmental organization while continuing to lead the “Keeping Portland clean means bringing back the original Portland I grew up with and cherish.”

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz