Campus Cleanup Day collects 44 bags of trash and recyclables

Nick Innocenti and a group of about 10 other students were walking toward Dunn Meadow, wearing rubber gloves on one hand and holding trash bags in the other when a man on a bicycle rode by.

“You guys cleaning up the campus?” he asked. “Thanks so much for what you’re doing.”

On Sunday, more than 200 students from various campus organizations, such as Women in Business, Alpha Kappa Psi and 21st Century Scholar Corps, participated in Civic Leadership Development’s annual Campus Cleanup Day.

CLD is a community service organization in the Kelley School of Business, but Innocenti, senior CLD president, said all campus organizations were welcome to participate.

The students met at 2 p.m. in Dunn Meadow and were split into different groups. After a short debriefing, the groups dispersed across campus. They picked up trash and recyclables as far north as the tailgate fields by 17th Street  and as far south as IU’s Third Street boundaries.

Innocenti led a group of students as they cleaned up the area surrounding the IU Art Museum, the Arboretum and Kelley.

Last year’s Campus Cleanup Day brought in more than 250 pounds of trash, but Innocenti, who had participated in three Cleanup Days prior to Sunday’s event, said the weight of the trash fluctuates from year to year.

Sophomore Taylor Exline, a member of Innocenti’s group, participated in the cleanup with Women in Business. She returned to Dunn Meadow after circulating the assigned area with a half-full bag of trash.

“I feel like 75 percent of this is cigarette butts,” she said.

Prospective members of the Alpha Kappa Psi fall pledge class contributed to the cleanup as part of the pledge process.

“We went over to Collins and picked up trash over there, and for the most part, it was pretty clean,” said Kate Wiggans, a freshman pledging Alpha Kappa Psi. “We filled a couple trash bags, and it was just really fun to get out and help clean up campus.”

At about 3 p.m., students returned to Dunn Meadow from their assigned areas. They piled 30 bags of trash and 14 bags of recyclables on the lawn to be weighed.

Collectively, participants picked up about 150 pounds of trash and recyclables.

“I was excited to see all the different student groups out here,” Innocenti said. “And we can see with the big pile of trash that we were able to make a tangible difference.”