Precinct 2 sets yearend village cleanup

The end-of-the-year village cleanup at Precinct 2 started brightly as volunteers from the Saipan Centennial Lions Club, as well as many others in the community, gathered last Saturday to pick up trash along Sugar Dock Beach, Susupe Beach, and Texas Road.

“We all can do our part to keep our villages clean, safe, and beautiful,” Rep. Tina Sablan told Saipan Tribune in an interview, adding that the village cleanup is one of many volunteer outreach opportunities that members of the Legislature have been involved in over the past few years.

The Lions Club, on the other hand, volunteered in line with their five-year Public Private Partnership agreement to adopt Sugar Dock beach, with an objective to do beach cleanups and dispose of debris, among others.

Saipan Centennial Lions Club immediate past president Araceli Lizama said that once or twice a month, their group conducts a beach cleanup, ensuring that the cleanliness of their adopted pavilion is maintained, and that there are no trash in the beach.

“I want the community to be aware of their trash; put them in the trash bin. Don’t throw empty bottles and cans in the ocean. What we are doing is to protect or environment and maintain the cleanliness of our beach,” Lizama added.

Recognizing the difficulty some families have in accessing regular garbage collection, as well as other solid waste issues like junk car dumping and litter piling up, Sablan and her colleagues at the Legislature worked with the Mayor’s Office, community partners such as school groups and volunteer organizations to address the concerns.

Precinct 2 residents are encouraged to clean around their homes and bring the trash they will be able to collect this Saturday, Dec. 18, to a central bin that will be placed just south of the Chalan Kanoa cemetery on Texas Road, from 8am to 12pm.

Only household waste and roadside litter will be accepted. No hazardous materials, junk appliances, tires, green waste, or similar items will be accepted.

“The idea for this outreach project is to end 2021 and ring in the new year by showing some extra love and care for our villages, and the places where we live, work, and play,” Sablan said.

For more information, or to ask for assistance with trash pickup on Saturday, call Sablan’s office at 664 8829 or 285 5392.