By Benjamin Garcia
Twitter: @AzNewsmedia

Rio Reimagined, Arizona State University, the city of Phoenix, and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality have come together for a day-long community cleanup effort this Saturday.

The community of Phoenix will use the day cleaning up the Salt River to celebrate Earth Day and to bring awareness to the community to eliminate litter.

Assistant Director at the University City Exchange at ASU, Cecilia Riviere, spoke on the upcoming event.

“In association with Earth Day, we’re gathering community volunteers to pick up trash that has been dumped in the river bottom,” Ms. Riviere told Independent Newsmedia. “It has a significant amount of trash and materials that has been dumped into the river so the cleanup event will tackle all aspects of that to help make it cleaner.”

The event is made possible due to a grant from the Ball Corp. meanwhile the River Network is organizing the clean-up event.

The event is Saturday, April 24 as Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and District 7 Councilmember Yassamin Ansari will give welcoming remarks at 9 a.m. before the first volunteers embark on a 2.5-hour, clean-up along the Salt River. The second shift of volunteers will deploy at 1:00 p.m., according to a press release.

The clean-up location, west of 91st Avenue and the Salt River and adjacent to the renowned Tres Rios Wetlands, is the site of illegal dumping. The clean-up will offer the community an opportunity to beautify the site and directly contribute to the revitalization of the Salt River.

Phoenix officials say the municipality is looking to be more aware of the litter throughout the community by not only hosting the Salt River cleanup but also a week-long effort. Members from all across the city have been using the Literati Citizen Science app to rid the streets of litter.

“Although we are still doing the Salt River cleanup day. Part of our Earth Day cleanup is a virtual cleanup using an application where citizens are doing their part cleaning up the city,” Ms. Riviere explained. “We want the people of the city to enjoy the city’s beauty and keep it clean.”

Although Ms. Riviere expressed the overall goal of this event is to clean up the waste accumulated at the bottom of the Salt River, but it is also to raise awareness of the issue itself.

“The more we do it the easier it becomes,” she said.

“It really takes us all working together to make this a success. We are actively working with other cities who want to work with us as well to continue to make these projects happen.”