Union Square’s trash can initiative is a three-part program with an overall goal of full compliance within their boundaries of all city trash laws. “However, the by-product of relationship building that takes place everyday when the Union Square Association’s board and Youth Council are out in the community promoting their vision for Union Square is what makes the program a success” says Christopher Taylor, President of Union Square Association. The residents are becoming excited about the progress they see and are becoming ambassadors on their blocks promoting, cleaning and improving Union Square.
The first part of the initiative involved offering free trash cans to anyone in their neighborhood that could not afford their own trash can. To ensure that their cans had the best chance of “survival” and to promote community pride, they worked with their youth council to stencil the cans with the Union Square name and logo and the address of the property. They attached the lids to the cans with rope. As a launch for this part of the program they targeted the toughest street and gave the entire five blocks free trash cans on the same day. To date they have provided over 115 free trash cans. These cans were paid for through the associations internal funds. However, they received a discount from Zeskind’s, their local hardware store, whose owner also donated 15 free cans to their efforts. The second phase involved extending the same discount that the association received to all residents who could afford a can and offered to stencil their cans with the logo, their address and to attach the lids for free. For the third part of their program, Union Square Association will offer free recycling bins to anyone in the neighborhood who is willing to use the cans for their intended purpose. This part of the program will be paid for through a grant received from the Mayor’s office and through matching funds provided by Union Square Assoc. In addition to hard work, events such as Movies in the Park (free to all), and the fostering of the Youth Council allow the association to build trust and buy in and ultimately is the backbone of any initiative and any healthy neighborhood.
For more information, contact Christopher Taylor at taylfour@msn.com or go to their website: www.unionsquarebalt.com
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