The mission of the Litter Free Zone initiative is to improve the physical appearance of a targeted area within the Auburn Gresham community and raise the awareness of the benefits of recycling and litter prevention.
The program was developed in response to the fact that Auburn Gresham was not selected to be part of the City’s expanded recycling program. The goals are: 1) To develop a creative solution to deter littering while improving the appearance of the community. 2) To change the culture and mindset (starting with the youth as ambassadors) of the residents of the community, by promoting recycling, creating an awareness of the benefits of recycling and the effects of littering. 3) To use this target area a pilot program that can be expanded into other parts of the Auburn Gresham Community and Chicago.
Launched in November 2007, the comprehensive program involves youth, area high schools, community residents, Cleanslate, the Departments of Streets and Sanitation (S&S),Environment (DOE) and Health (DOH). To date it has included recycling fairs at partner schools, co-sponsorship of a recycling program in two schools DOE and DOH educational presentations for youth and community, field trips for students—all designed to challenge youth to see the benefits of recycling and recruit ambassadors. Each participating high school will have 30-40 ambassadors who will work in teams to distribute blue bags to neighborhood residents, along with a “door hanger” containing information about recycling and a pick-up date for the blue bags. As one measure of success, Clean Slate will track the recyclables that do not go into the landfill. Additional plans include installation of a kiosk to promote the benefits of recycling, installation of blue recycle bins on 79th street, and potential collaboration with CTA to announce that “you are now entering a Litter Free Zone.”
Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation
Contact: Cheryl Johnson. 773.483.3696, gad.c.johnson@sbcglobal.net