If you or anyone you know has flood-damaged or other unwanted items to get rid of, the city has begun collecting them.
Project Clean & Green is on its annual run. Led by the City of Milwaukee, the initiative is designed to build neighborhood pride and encourage residents to take an active role in maintaining clean, welcoming spaces.
From April 20 to June 1, Department of Public Works sanitation crews will move zone by zone each week, collecting bulky waste and yard debris directly from residential properties.
How the program works
Residents can place up to 6 cubic yards of unwanted materials (roughly the equivalent of a small pickup truck load) at your regular garbage collection point by 7 a.m. on their designated Clean & Green day.
While most items are picked up on the scheduled garbage day, DPW advises allowing through the following business day for complete collection.
Yard waste must be placed in brown paper yard waste bags, which are available at local stores. This is the only time during the year that DPW collects yard waste in bags, making it a key window for spring cleanup.
Placement matters for efficient pickup. Items should be kept out of the street and instead placed between the sidewalk and curb along the lawn edge if there is no sidewalk, or at the end of a driveway. For alley collections, materials should be set at the alley line.
Who is eligible
The program is limited to properties with one to four dwelling units that receive city garbage service. DPW sanitation crews do not service larger apartment complexes or commercial properties through this program.
What won’t be collected
Not everything can go to the curb.
Crews will not collect appliances, tires, electronics such as TVs or computers, construction debris, paint, motor oil or other hazardous materials.
You can use Department of Public Works Drop Off Centers or Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) resources to dispose of those items safely.
Plan ahead
Pickups in the first Clean & Green zone started Monday and run through April 24 in sections of the city’s West and North Sides that include Sherman Park and Lindsay Heights. Zone 2 runs from April 27 to May 1 and encompasses sections of the city’s far South and Southwest Sides.
Zone 3 includes much of the city’s Northwest Side. Those pickups run from May 4-8. Clean & Green won’t hit the near South Side until May 18-22.
Residents can find their assigned Clean & Green date by checking their garbage and recycling schedule online.
You can find your Clean & Green Zone here.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
