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| Need a sofa? Someone dumped one on Americana Drive. |
UPDATE: This event has been postponed until Feb. 18, as more snow is predicted for this weekend. More than 40 people have already signed up.The public is invited to join a
community cleanup of Americana Drive in Annandale on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 21, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
The wooded area along that road between the street and the beltway sound wall. has been a dumping ground for years. During a drive-by on Jan. 9, we saw couches, tires, mattresses, lots of construction debris, many beer cans, fast-food containers, and a huge amount of other litter.
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| Lots of construction debris dropped off here. |
Amy Gould, a resident of the Lafayette Forest Condominium and a member of the
Fairfax County Restoration Project, started organizing the cleanup after a complaint about the trash along Americana Drive on the Nextdoor network sparked a lengthy discussion thread.
The
Friends of Accotink Creek are partnering with the cleanup event, as are several communities in the area, including the
Vistas of Annandale and Bristow Village.
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| Philip Latasa of Friends of Accotink Creek. |
“There’s an endless supply of garbage,” Gould says. Building contractors apparently dump their trash by the road instead of taking to a landfill.
The Virginia Department of Transportation is responsible for collecting litter, and while they do occasionally pick up trash on Americana, it’s not enough, and “the trash keeps coming,” Gould says. She would like to see more police on site to catch people dumping trash and more enforcement of anti-littering laws.
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| Commercial vehicles line Americana Drive. |
Volunteers are encouraged to
sign up for the cleanup event online. People with trucks are especially needed to help haul away large pieces of trash. Students who need community service hours are encouraged to participate.
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| The area between the road and the beltway is full of litter. |
Clean Fairfax will provide trash bags and other supplies for the cleanup. The county will provide a dumpster, and the office of the Braddock supervisor will ensure a police presence to manage traffic during the event.
