Cleanup project draws dozens of volunteers to Americana Drive

Mike and Sheila Bishop

About 30 volunteers spent some time on their Veterans’ Day holiday picking up litter and construction debris along Americana Drive in Annandale.

Among the items found: several rugs, big pieces of concrete, lots of water bottles, and an uncashed check for $300, reports volunteer Sheila Bishop. Philip Latasa, of Friends of Accotink Creek, found a big box full of bathroom tiles and an unopened can of Washington Nationals beer.

A volunteer crew from the Vistas of Annandale. [Amy Gould]

Sheila and her husband Mike live in Centreville, but continue to have fond memories of their old neighborhood in Annandale, Heritage Woods I on Americana Drive, where they lived as
newlyweds in 1980-82.

Most of the people who took part in the cleanup on Monday, including the Bishops, had also participated in the previous cleanup in February. “It’s nice to see people are invested in our community,” said organizer Amy Gould of the Fairfax County Restoration Project.

Many of the volunteers live in the Vistas of Annandale, Gould noted. “The Vistas really came through for us.”

Several rugs were picked up.

The grassy area between Americana Drive and the beltway stayed pretty clean the past few months. But construction contractors have continued to dump leftover building materials there.

The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services is expected to haul away a sofa and other large items from the bottom of a steep incline that the volunteers were unable to get to. The Virginia Department of Transportation has agreed to post “no littering” signs.

Fines for littering and dumping violations range from $250 to $2,500 in Virginia. But the police have to catch violators in the act before they can charge them.

PFC M. Gunstrom, of the West Springfield Police District, who was stationed at the cleanup to ensure the safety of the volunteers, recalls responding to a call about littering in Lorton at one point. He happened to be nearby and caught the violator in the act.

That is rare, however, as patrol officers are focused on bigger crimes, and the police department doesn’t have the resources to install cameras or assign officers to watch for trash dumping.