A Sioux Falls city cleanup initiative celebrates its 33rd year by helping over 4,000 residents keep their property clear of unwanted items.
Neighborhood Improvement Complain Easement, or NICE, and Keep Environmental Enhancement Permanent, or KEEP, are programs meant to help residents get rid of trash and yard waste they would other wise have to take to the dump themselves.
This year, the neighborhood pickup projects gathered over 100 volunteers.
Nick Miller is the Environmental Health Manager with Sioux Falls Public Health.
“Between the two neighborhoods that were selected,4,000 residents were helped with the removal of their unwanted items. Some of the specific numbers I do have to share with you today are 985 tires were removed, 577 mattresses, and 20 dump truck loads of tree branches,” said Miller.
Miller said removing unwanted items from your property could help prevent bug and rodent infestations. It could also help avoid safety hazards.
He said volunteers and every city department helped over the week, making the event a success.
Kevin Smith is the Assistant Director ofPlanning and Development Services for the City of Sioux Falls. As the warmer weather comes, he reminds residents of city nuisance vegetation rules.
“We do have a standard of no more than eight inches in height can your vegetation be, and also that you need to control your noxious weeds and with the warmth and the moister that we’ve had and are going to have, things are going to start growing rather quickly,” said Smith.
The United States Bureau of Land Management describes noxious weeds as a plant that grows out of place, is competitive, destructive, and persistent.
Outside of the annual NICE/ KEEP initiative, the city offers an annual free landfill pass for residents to utilize at their convenience. Passes are verified by scanning your ID at the landfill.
