District: District 11 – San Diego and Imperial Counties
Contact: Aaron Hunter
Phone: (619) 688-6670
SAN DIEGO — As part of the second annual Clean California Community Days, aimed at cleaning up and beautifying the Golden State, Caltrans’s Clean California Community Days came to San Diego and Imperial Counties this month with six events highlighting Caltrans efforts to beautify and clean communities throughout District 11 and California.
- Rockwood Elementary: On Earth Day, April 22, Caltrans District 11 visited Rockwood Elementary in Calexico educating students on Clean California and the importance of litter-free communities. Caltrans mascot Safety Sam was on hand to remind students and teachers about staying safe and how the top priority of Caltrans is the safety of motorists and Caltrans workers. About 600 Rockwood students engaged in activities to encourage keeping communities clean. Caltrans workers from the Imperial Valley spoke about their jobs and answered students’ questions.
- Imperial and Chula Vista Dump Days: On April 20, Caltrans crews were on hand to allow the public to dispose of non-hazardous, unwanted household items free of charge. Caltrans regularly hosts Dump Days to decrease highway debris and illegal dumping. At the Imperial Fairgrounds, Caltrans collected 50 mattresses, 57 tires, and 260 cubic yards of waste and debris. In Chula Vista, Caltrans collected 165 mattresses, 187 tires, and 742 cubic yards of waste and debris.
- Litter removal: Caltrans partnered with I Love a Clean San Diego to host two events in San Diego County to pick up litter on April 20. The events drew 20 volunteers who removed more than 75 pounds of trash and 16 pounds of recycling.
- El Centro Downtown Beautification: On April 5, the City of El Centro was awarded $4.7 million to revitalize the Downtown Town Square Park, which will include a food truck court within the park, murals, gateway signs, curb inlet screen protectors, tamper-proof trash and recycling receptacles, new LED lights, and new benches. This grant is part of the Clean California Local Grant Program, which has awarded billions of dollars to clean and beautify local streets, parks, tribal lands, and transit centers across California.
Since launching Clean California in July 2021, Caltrans and its local partners have picked up 2.3 million cubic yards of litter – enough to fill about 700 Olympic-size swimming pools. Caltrans has hosted more than 500 free dump days in communities throughout the state – resulting in the collection of 12,000-plus mattresses and nearly 50,000 tires. The initiative has drawn more than 10,000 community clean-up volunteers and created 15,000 jobs, including positions for individuals who were formerly incarcerated, on probation, or experiencing housing insecurity.
Visit CleanCA.com to learn more about how Clean California is transforming communities and how you can get involved.