Volunteers work to help folks do some spring cleaning at the 'Clean Up and Green Up' event in Traverse City.
/ upnorthlive.com
TRAVERSE CITY -- Even though we lost an hour of sleep last night because of the Day Light Saving Time, hundreds of folks still woke up extra early to go green with a free community wide recycle and reuse event.
Cars lines the street near the Traverse City American waste Recycling Facility to help save the planet by doing some major spring cleaning.
"We do it every spring and fall with Day Light Saving Time," said Treasurer for the Michigan Green Consortium, Terry Garrett. "And we recycle, reuse, repurpose hard to dispose of items."
The event is called Clean Up and Green Up, and has been put on by the non profit organization, Michigan Green Consortium for the last eight seasons.
"Michigan Green Consortium was created to lessen the burden on the government on a local level," said Charles Hasman, Assistant Director to the Michigan Green Consortium. "To be educational, to be a central help of information. So everybody can recycle. We're focused on the air quality and energy consumption. Just all types of different things for the local environment."
20 businesses from the area participated in the event, collecting unwanted, recyclable and reusable items that would otherwise be sent to the trash to build up in landfills.
This is the second year that Traverse City American Waste Recycling Facility's parking lot served as the one stop drop-off site. Officials from American Waste say that events like these go hand in hand with everything they stand for.
Folks dropped off everything from old carpet, furniture, and appliances, to unwanted television sets and computers.
"It certainly helps the community clean up and organize," said Sue Kelly, who was at the event to some spring cleaning of her own. "Spring is a great time to be doing that, and with the rain today, I believe it is spring or it's coming."
Despite the rain, Clean Up and Green Up was a huge success, and left Traverse City a little bit cleaner, and greener.
