T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER — Marshalltown city councilors were part of clean-up efforts in the first phase of the Cleaniac/Ward One Clean-Up on Saturday. From left to right: Henry Kell; At-Large Councilor Barry Kell, Henry’s father; Ward One Councilor Mike Ladehoff and At-Large Councilor Jeff Schneider. Ladehoff provided supplies and directions for volunteers from a small station at Supermarket Villachuato on North Center Street.

The first phase of the “Cleaniac Clean-Up” in Ward One on the north end of Marshalltown kicked off on Saturday morning.

As temperatures rose to some of the warmest of the season thus far throughout the day, Ward One Councilman Mike Ladehoff and an estimated 100 volunteers grabbed a contractor-sized trash bag, a pair of gloves and pitched in.

Ladehoff was inspired to start the project a couple years ago when a constituent mentioned how they would often take a bag to pick up trash while dog walking and frequently come back with a full load.

He’s also heard from those inside and outside of Ward One of the day-to-day condition of the area and started the event to give people a chance to do something about it.

The city parks in Ward One are all claimed by various civic and business groups, while volunteers are assigned sidewalks throughout the community to collect trash and either return it to Ladehoff’s home station or leave it on street corners for later pickup.

The process typically takes 90 minutes to two hours to complete, though Ladehoff mentioned some people jump in throughout the day to pitch in.

This is also an event where diminishing returns has been a good thing – Ladehoff said the first year a drop-off dumpster was filled with trash collected from the area. By the end of each phase this year, Ladehoff expects the trash to fit in a standard pickup truck bed.

This lines up with ongoing litter trends – Keep America Beautiful, in its 2020 National Litter Study, estimated a 54 percent decrease in litter along American roadways.

“This will mostly just be a chance to take a nice morning walk,” Ladehoff said.

In terms of preventing future litter, one area where Ladehoff recommends people take a second look is their truck beds, with litter flying out of open truck beds being a common source of what ends up on the side of the roads.

Phase two will be on Saturday, April 20 at 10 a.m. in the Main Street district. Volunteers can meet in front of the Marshalltown Central Business District (MCBD) and Chamber offices, 34 W. Main St., to help keep the Main Street District clean and tidy for residents and visitors to Marshalltown.

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Contact Jake Ryder at (641) 753-6611 ext. 227 or jryder@timesrepublican.com.