Socially distanced Stash the Trash event planned Saturday

ALBANY — With two years worth of debris having collected in the community since the last Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful Stash the Trash event in 2019, there should be plenty for volunteers to do Saturday during the annual (minus a pandemic, of course) cleanup effort.

Albany and Dougherty County officials, as they have done in the past, will kick off the Stash the Trash weekend Friday morning by removing debris from the city’s downtown district.

“They set the example for the rest of the community,” KADB Executive Director Judy Bowles said in a news release.

Taking up Saturday where the local officials leave off, more than 1,000 volunteers are expected to clean up designated sectors of the city throughout the day. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, there will be no citywide gathering of volunteers, but groups have already made plans to clean up specific areas.

The very active Rawson Circle Neighborhood Association is one of the groups that has registered to participate. The group’s president, Jack Davis, said in an email to members of the association that T-shirts would be awarded to the first 30 volunteers who take part in the cleanup. The Rawson Circle group also has trash bags and gloves for volunteers, who are scheduled to work from 8-11 a.m.

“Looks like a chance for rain, so stay flexible,” Davis told the volunteers. “Let’s get a great turnout and work to make our neighborhood look it’s best.”

During the last Stash the Trash event in Albany and Dougherty County, 2,069 volunteers took part and removed 54.19 tons of garbage on 123 miles of roadside.

For additional information on the cleanup, contact Bowles at (229) 302-3098.