Detroit's Alley Clean Up removes 90,000 tons of trash in just over 3 years

Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press

Since 2020, the Alley Clean Up Program has been decluttering Detroit's overgrown and trash-filled alleyways — one ton at a time.

Now, the city is celebrating its 3,000th purged alleyway, having cleared out 90,000 tons of brush and trash and overall helping to significantly reduce citywide blight.

Workers from the Detroit General Services Department work on clearing an alley as city residents and officials celebrate the completion of 3,000 alleys being cleaned of brush, trash and debris. The effort was discussed during a press conference on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in the Russell Woods neighborhood.
Workers from the Detroit General Services Department work on clearing an alley as city residents and officials celebrate the completion of 3,000 alleys being cleaned of brush, trash and debris. The effort was discussed during a press conference on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in the Russell Woods neighborhood.

During the Alley Clean Up Program's first year, the team was able to power through over 500 alleyways, encouraging 500 other Detroit block clubs to sign up for services. Since then, the program's reach has stretched over 15 million square feet of land and picked up 180 million pounds of debris.

More: A look at life in Detroit in the 1980s: 100+ photos (freep.com)

Additionally, the program has given dozens of returning citizens the opportunity to get back on their feet and get involved with Detroit's neighborhood revitalization efforts.

Block clubs and neighborhood associations must be registered with the Department of Neighborhoods and complete an alley cleanup request form, then the city picks out alleyways identified in the requests to be cleaned. Once an alleyway has been cleaned up and cleared out, block clubs must continue with alley maintenance by performing at least two cleanups a year.

Workers from the Detroit General Services Department work on clearing an alley as city residents and officials celebrate the completion of 3,000 alleys being cleaned of brush, trash and debris. The effort was discussed during a press conference on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in the Russell Woods neighborhood.
Workers from the Detroit General Services Department work on clearing an alley as city residents and officials celebrate the completion of 3,000 alleys being cleaned of brush, trash and debris. The effort was discussed during a press conference on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in the Russell Woods neighborhood.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Alley Clean Up removed 90,000 tons of trash from 3,000 Detroit alleys

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