Make Ottumwa Shine Week Wraps Up

Make Ottumwa Shine Week 2008 is complete and officials are calling the event a tremendous success.  The annual event is designed to focus attention on cleaning up the City and to encourage citizens to take an active role in improving community appearance.  Over 60 volunteer crews signed up to tackle clean-up projects at 100 different locations around town.   

Director of Health, Inspections and Solid Waste, Jody Gates, said, “Volunteers make a huge contribution to the Make Ottumwa Shine campaign.   We are grateful that so many are willing to pitch in to clean up areas or help at the drop off site.  Everyone who helped deserves a pat on the back.” 

The weeklong community-wide cleanup culminated with Free Landfill Day on Saturday. Disposal at the Landfill was free to all residents of Wapello and Davis Counties.  The Ottumwa/Wapello Landfill had 492 vehicles pass through the gate.  Market Street Parking Lot disposal site was busy too, with residents dropping off enough waste to fill 58 dump trucks totaling 44 tons of waste.   Residents also filled 10 large roll-off dumpsters with wood waste, cardboard, sheetrock at the Market Street site.  All totaled, Wapello and Davis County residents disposed of 230 tons of waste.  “It was a very busy day at the Landfill and the drop-off site.  The numbers indicate we had our biggest year so far.  We took in just over 18 tons of waste materials more than 2007,” noted Gates.

The Make Ottumwa Shine Committee works to organize the annual cleanup effort.  The committee is made up of community volunteers that work year round to promote community cleanliness and to improve the appearance of Ottumwa.