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Clean California Brings 57 San Francisco Volunteers Together to Beautify Dolores Park
Clean California, in partnership with Refuse Refuse, the San Francisco Department of Public Works, Keep America Beautiful, Keep California Beautiful, and local San Francisco volunteers, came together this past Sunday, Nov. 12, to clean up Dolores Park, home to the iconic Mexico Liberty Bell. This special cleanup event brought together the entire community to preserve and enhance the beauty of Dolores Park. The two-hour event brought together 57 volunteers who collected 300 lbs. of litter.
Refuse Refuse was excited to kick off our partnership with Clean California and work with Caltrans, Keep America Beautiful, and Keep California Beautiful to bring awareness and implement solutions that help reduce litter in San Francisco and our state. In line with the primary mission of Refuse Refuse, the Dolores Park cleanup event not only encapsulated our ethos of collective responsibility but also manifested our core principles. It was a practical demonstration of my personal belief in the power of community-driven efforts to preserve and protect the environment, which is how the Refuse Refuse movement was conceived.
Sunday’s cleanup was the perfect testament, as volunteers made a direct impact by removing litter and waste from our neighborhoods, including cigarette butts, which are the most frequently littered items containing toxic chemicals and plastics. This, I thought, is what continues to drive me and Refuse Refuse in our fight to clean and beautify San Francisco. This is the heart of Refuse Refuse, and it beats in every volunteer who joined hands at Dolores Park.
“Community groups, local businesses, and residents are instrumental in preserving the beauty of their communities and California. As a Clean California partner, Keep America Beautiful is grateful to work alongside local partners on cleanup events like this one in iconic Dolores Park in San Francisco. We were proud to help inspire people to preserve the beauty of this park for future generations to enjoy,” said Gabriela Polo, Regional Director, Keep America Beautiful.
Community cleanup events like on Sunday are made possible by Governor Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative, a multiyear cleanup effort led by Caltrans to remove trash, create thousands of jobs, and join with communities throughout the state to reclaim, transform, and beautify public spaces.
Since launching Clean California in July 2021, Caltrans has cleared more than 2 million cubic yards of litter from California roadways – enough litter to span the length of the Golden Gate Bridge 670 times. The program has also employed 8,700 people and funded 320 projects to revitalize and beautify underserved communities, some of which are already complete and now sources of community pride.
I encourage you to learn more about these cleanup events and join like-minded people who care about our environment and community. You can learn more about how you can get involved in ongoing and local cleanup efforts at CleanCA.com.
By Vince Yuen
Vince Yuen, Founder, Refuse Refuse
Vince Yuen is just another San Franciscan who cares about a clean environment. He started out cleaning his block with his two daughters. Then he discovered others already picking up trash and spread the word to neighbors from all over the city who had joined the Refuse Refuse movement to keep the city clean. He discovered that caring for San Francisco is his greatest passion.
Refuse Refuse was established in March 2021 and has since organized over 1,500 cleanups. Through a collective community-driven effort of 10,000 volunteers, Refuse Refuse has collected more than 425,000 gallons of litter. To learn more about Vince Yuen and his work with Refuse Refuse, visit www.refuserefusesf.org.
