ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A new type of tournament is coming to the city Saturday, and it’s already inspired some trash-talking.
But not the type you’d might expect.
- The Community and The Arts Clean Up is slated to begin 10 a.m. Saturday
- The tournament-style clean up aims to encourage community engagement and clear litter from neighborhoods
- After the clean up, there will be live music and food vendors in the park
“What I'm trying to do is just have everybody realize that they did something together and be able to see everybody collecting [litter] and grouping together and having a good time,” Mac Vill, CEO of Real Recognize Real Entertainment. “And realize it doesn't have to be always so serious.
“We can work and have fun at the same time.”
Vill, along with a handful of other Lehigh Valley nonprofits and service organizations, have partnered for the Community and The Arts Clean Up. Slated to begin 10 a.m. at Bucky Boyle Park, 10 Pump Place, the all-ages event aims to combine community service and engagement through a tournament-style competition — with prizes for the team that fills the most trash bags — followed by a gathering with live music and food.
Not only will trash be cleared from neighborhoods across the city, organizers said, but it could also spark connection and collaboration within the community that carries on well after the event ends.
‘To keep Allentown looking its best’
Kathy Frederick, founder of LV Clean Up, partnered with Vill and others for the event. One of the Valley’s most well-known litter vigilantes, Frederick said consistency is needed to help keep the city clean.
“The tournament clean up is one way to show folks just how easy it is to pick up litter in only minutes a day — at their stoops, on their block, maybe even the whole neighborhood — to keep Allentown looking its best and to remove trash that endangers wildlife, gets into our waterways and pollutes the environment,” said Frederick. “We’re especially excited to involve the city’s youth so that they see how small actions like picking up litter can have a big impact on the quality of life that all residents can enjoy through their efforts.”
There are more than 500 million pieces of litter on Pennsylvania's roads, according to the state’s latest litter research study, published in January 2020. Cigarette butts and plastic make up the bulk of the trash, 37% and 30%, respectively. The report found that motorists and pedestrians are the leading litter contributors.
The report’s key findings included survey results showing 76% of respondents said littering reduces property values, negatively affects tourism and business, raises taxes due to clean up, ends up in waterways and is an environmental problem.
Neil Singh, the program director for Promise Neighborhoods’ Promise Corps, an environmental service group, said there’s power in removing litter from a community, and can often lead to safer neighborhoods.
“We're an anti-violence organization,” Singh said. “That's a huge part of our mission, and why we have this intersection of environmental awareness and the Promise Corps with the work that we do — that's very integral to our mission.”
‘There's never been a clean-up tournament’
The event has been a year in the making, said Damaris Vega, chief coordinator for Real Recognize Real.
“In the summertime, there's basketball tournaments — there's all types of tournaments, but there's never been a clean up tournament. And people love competition, healthy competition.”Damaris Vega, chief coordinator for Real Recognize Real
“In the summertime, there's basketball tournaments — there's all types of tournaments, but there's never been a clean-up tournament,” Vega said. “And people love competition, healthy competition.”
There are five teams set to compete, with dozens already registered to participate, organizers said. Teams will clean streets in the West Side, Second Ward and in Jordan Heights, among other locations.
“They’ll be recording how many trash bags they collect to their team lead, and then we'll tally that up and they get a prize for picking the most garbage,” she said. “Aside from us promoting it and marketing it, each team lead also had the freedom to get their own volunteers to their teams.
“The more volunteers they get for their team, the more potential they have to win the tournament.”
But, regardless of winning, volunteers get a t-shirt and a food voucher, she said.
‘It's everybody coming together’
Cleaning up litter is hard work, but making it a competition can help engage more participants, Singh said, especially youth.
“I think any chance you get to gamify tasks that aren't quite as fun, it usually results in an overall fun outcome,” he said, explaining that it’s a commonplace practice in many indigenous or ethnic communities. “It makes doing the dirty work a lot easier and a lot more fun, and also a lot more accessible to kids.”
After several hours of litter-pick up, a gathering is scheduled in the park with vendors, live music and a splash pad.
“I like to think of it in terms of communion,” Vill explained. “It's everybody coming together to be able to celebrate coming together — that's the whole point of it.”
Bringing awareness to an issue, like litter, while connecting the community through art is the goal, he said.
And that healthy competitive spirit can only help.
“We're gonna sweep the competition — my crew’s pretty psyched to be participating and I feel like we got a good shot at winning,” said Singh. “I’m hoping that, in light of the things we’re going to be doing, we’re going to have a lot of fun trash-talking picking up trash.”
Participants interested in signing up can register here.
