Morning showers don't dampen FBA volunteers' spirits

FALLBROOK – Over 45 volunteers attended the Fallbrook Beautification Alliance "Keeping Fallbrook Litter-Free" Program Kick-Off Jan. 12, in spite of waking to morning showers.

The program attracted interested and environmentally conscientious residents who were excited to be a part of the new ambitious program, aimed at cleaning up 48 square miles of Fallbrook, represented by 20 newly created "neighborhood zones."

Fourteen volunteers offered to be zone captains in their neighborhoods and welcomed the opportunity to meet other community volunteers while receiving instructions on the program's goals.

All participants were asked to make a pledge to pick up at least one 5-gallon bucket of litter each week, and were instructed on how to keep safe, have fun and build a team to help in their zone. Clean up supplies were checked out, including litter collection buckets, trash grabbers, gloves and safety vests.

FBA Event Chair Marta Donovan encouraged participants in the program to make safety their first goal, wear their new FBA Litter Free vests and work gloves. She reminded volunteers to avoid venturing out on busy roads where there is not a pedestrian pathway.

FBA will work with the Fallbrook Senior Patrol to coordinate safe times to cleanup the busy roads and will ask volunteers to work in groups with a black and white patrol car in support.

Jean Dooley, FBA board member and zone captain, spoke about FBA's cigarette butt recycling efforts. Working with partner TerraCycle, FBA has already collected 15,678 units, which represents approximately 15 pounds of cigarette butts diverted from landfills and the environment.

This waste, primarily collected in FBA provided cigarette disposal units along the Pico Promenade, will be remanufactured by TerraCycle. Donovan demonstrated a simple method to keep cigarette butts separate from other litter while participating in the cleanup.

Todd Jester, FIS specialist from FPUD who designed the zone map for the program, also agreed to be a zone captain in his area. His FBA zone map may be viewed at http://arcg.is/0isSqC.

Other helpful information was provided to the group, including numbers to call to report graffiti, illegally dumped items, potholes or crimes and the proper way to dispose of items that do not go in curbside trash or recycling. All this information is available on FBA's website.

Following the kick-off, volunteers joined I Love A Clean San Diego in cleaning the roads and open space surrounding Don Dussault Park on Alturas Road. The family-friendly county park which is edged by neighborhoods and open space, had become littered with trash, hazardous materials and other discarded items.

Participants also learned that Fallbrook falls in both the Santa Margarita and San Luis Rey watersheds, which follow waterways to the ocean. Storm drains found throughout Fallbrook are not designed to filter out trash, rather their purpose is to move water off streets during a storm.

Trash, cigarettes, pet waste, oil and pesticides, dropped or washed into gutters in Fallbrook, may quickly end up in the ocean. Which is another reason to capture trash at its source, all while beautifying Fallbrook.

Volunteers spread out along Alturus Road, collecting over 300 pounds of trash, over 100 pounds of recycling and a wide range of hazardous waste, including one vape pen, four household batteries, five needles, two broken glass pipes, one blue gas tank, one tire and one television. With the help of I Love A Clean San Diego, these hazardous materials were disposed of in a safe manner.

Volunteers also identified several bulky/large items which would require follow-up collection, as well as abandoned grocery carts. All illegally dumped items were called in for proper removal and disposal.

FBA is hoping to fill the additional six zone captain spots soon and there is space for an unlimited number of volunteers to join existing teams. Anyone interested in being a part of this exciting community wide effort should contact Donovan at (760) 405-4054 or go to FBA website http://www.fallbrookbeautification.org.

All participants must complete a waiver form before joining a team to picking up litter for the program.

High resolution images available at https://villagenews.smugmug.com/Morning-showers-dont-dampen-FBA-volunteers-spirits-