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PDM returns to monthly cleanup
The 21 members of the Saipan Awaodori Team and seven staff from Kinpachi Restaurant pose for a picture after picking up 780 lbs of trash in PDM Promoters February cleanup of Paseo de Marianas. (Contributed Photo)
After months of zero cleanups, PDM Promoters returned to its regular cleanup of Paseo de Marianas last President’s Day on Feb. 15 and collected 780 lbs of trash.
A total of 21 members of the Saipan Awaodori Team and seven staff from Kinpachi Restaurant joined PDM Promoters in the cleanup, which also covered Coral Tree Avenue, the American Memorial Park Road, Beach Road, and all connecting alleyways.
“Our last volunteer cleanup was last February 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic we stopped due to health concerns, especially since most of our volunteers are children. We resumed our monthly cleanup of Paseo de Marianas last December when we collected 600 lbs of trash,” said PDM Promoters coordinator Sonia Siwa.
In the December cleanup, PDM Promoters’ volunteers also did bush-cutting and trimmed the plants along Paseo de Marianas. “Our volunteers got rid of tall weeds, picked up trash, and took thrown out debris from vacant lots.”
Siwa added that PDM Promoters is glad that the CNMI government has controlled the local spread of COVID-19, as there’s been no local transmissions for more than 180 days.
“Despite this present situation, we want to make sure that we are still involved in our community through this volunteer cleanup. For the past years, our volunteers picked up several tons of trash that could’ve gone into our ocean. And as we care for our environment we also want to give our local children a sense of belonging and that they are important to the community,” she said.
PDM Promoters’ monthly cleanups are usually held every Saturday and are supported by the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality and the non-profit’s major sponsors, T-Galleria and TSL Foundation.
Siwa said T-Galleria and TSL Foundation’s support enables them to have the cleaning materials needed for their cleanups. Kinpachi Restaurant, meanwhile, provides the meal and snacks for volunteers.
Volunteers of PDM Promoters will be at it again in March when it conducts its second monthly cleanup of 2021. (Saipan Tribune)
