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Keep West Palm Beach Beautiful: Making Our Community Clean and Green · Inside West Palm Beach

• 0:13
  Welcome to the City Center podcast from West Palm Beach,
• 0:16
  Florida.
• 0:17
  I'm Jerry Marcello.
• 0:19
  It is true that West Palm Beach is indeed a tropical paradise dotted with palms and situated next to a shimmering lagoon.
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  The beauty here can be breathtaking.
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  That beauty is fragile,
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  however,
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  carelessness can easily destroy our environment and change the face of our city.
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  What can we do to protect and enhance our community and keep it beautiful forever?
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  Joining us is Dwayne White coordinator for the City's Keep West Palm Beach Beautiful program,
• 0:49
  Dwayne,
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  welcome.
• 0:50
  Thank you,
• 0:51
  Jerry Dwayne.
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  The Keep West Palm Beach Beautiful program is obviously an extension or a growth out of the Keep America Beautiful program which has been around for many,
• 1:01
  many decades.
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  What was it about?
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  Keep America beautiful,
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  that made it so successful?
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  And how does that apply to West Palm Beach?
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  How does it grow into?
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  Keep West Palm Beach beautiful or Jerry?
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  I'm old enough to remember those commercials.
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  The way it has grown is to inspire communities and residents to uh you know,
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  to partner for the purpose of,
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  you know,
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  make sure our neighborhoods are clean,
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  that they're resilient and beautiful.
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  It usually seems to be the Keep America Beautiful campaign is about litter and picking up litter.
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  I remember seeing those messages as a kid.
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  Is that part of the mission for Keep West Palm Beach Beautiful.
• 1:38
  Yeah,
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  we share the mission.
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  So just to clarify the Keep America Beautiful program.
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  Uh We're an affiliate.
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  There's over 700 affiliates throughout the nation.
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  Are there other other neighboring counties and cities that are involved?
• 1:51
  Definitely.
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  So,
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  uh there's keep Palm Beach County beautiful who we partner closely with.
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  Uh they've been a great supporter of us and helped us throughout our,
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  our transition.
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  Ok.
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  So let's get down to basics.
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  Keep West Palm Beach beautiful.
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  What is its mission?
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  What are you guys trying to do?
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  So,
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  at its heart,
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  it's a,
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  the mission is to make it a community led effort.
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  So with the beautification,
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  if it's reducing waste recycling programs,
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  uh putting it into litter,
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  abandoned vehicles,
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  illegal dumping.
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  Uh these are uh priorities that uh city leadership has uh identified and this is what we're addressing.
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  How bad is illegal dumping.
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  It's,
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  it's bad.
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  Um You know,
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  I work out of public works so I'm aware of the,
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  the weight that's picked up weekly,
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  uh just on a daily basis.
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  So right now,
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  we're over,
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  well over 100 tons a year to date just in uh legally picked up trash.
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  Ok.
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  So people will dump litter,
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  trash construction materials literally on the side of a sidewalk anywhere that people aren't watching.
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  Is that what's really happening?
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  Exactly.
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  So,
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  you know,
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  we're,
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  we're a growing city and with all the new construction and developments happening,
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  uh the primary cause of it happens to be a construction material furniture when people are moving out.
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  And uh it's just discarded on the side of the streets uh within our alleyways.
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  And,
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  uh,
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  you know,
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  our program is,
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  is built to address that.
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  Say I'm a resident and one day I wake up and I look out on the corner of some empty,
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  you know,
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  lot nearby me and there's a bunch of material that suddenly appears a lot of trash,
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  a lot of junk.
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  Uh What do I do?
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  Who do I call?
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  So there is the W PB key app which I highly recommend that residents download and use.
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  You can take a picture with the app and you can select the department which will be public works if it's illegal dumping and then,
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  uh,
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  we'll be notified of that illegally dump material.
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  Uh,
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  you could always just call,
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  make the phone call,
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  see that you see illegally dump material and it'll be addressed.
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  Is there any kind of prize or return for this for prizes or awards?
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  Definitely.
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  So if you,
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  uh,
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  if an individual was to be able to uh identify individual by taking a picture of their vehicle,
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  perhaps their license plate and they can prove that that individual was the culprit for the legal dumping it's up to $500 for the award.
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  Wow.
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  OK.
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  And it's important though that you just take a picture.
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  You don't necessarily confront these folks.
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  Not at all,
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  not at all,
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  do not engage,
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  do,
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  don't be confrontational.
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  Um Just,
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  uh you wanna avoid confrontation,
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  but the end of the day,
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  it's uh just being involved in your community,
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  right?
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  And so you would go ahead and be able to use this W PB key app that the city has and you'd be able to,
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  to report this information and hopefully down the road somewhere along the line,
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  a conviction will take place and we get a,
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  a major litterer off the streets.
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  Exactly.
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  Ok.
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  So that's just one way that keep America,
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  keep West Palm Beach beautiful is involved in this.
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  How do we get just grassroots?
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  How do we get people to help out with keeping streets clean and keeping the community as,
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  as spotless as possible?
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  A good question.
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  So,
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  part of my job is to engage the community.
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  And throughout the year,
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  we've uh created events,
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  uh community,
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  sign up events where we partner with um Poach Atlantic.
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  We've partnered with a beach bucket foundation surface 71.
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  Uh many other organizations that uh have the same values as us where,
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  you know,
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  they want to clean up the parks,
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  our roadways,
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  uh the alleyways and within our communities as well.
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  Do,
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  do young people get involved little kids?
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  Definitely,
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  definitely.
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  It's uh it's important that uh you know,
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  the young people are able to be a part of the solution,
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  enhance that a little bit.
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  You know,
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  we,
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  we do want our Children to be aware and not be a part of the problem and be part of the solution.
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  Is there any specific ways that you reach out to young people?
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  Do you go to classrooms?
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  Do you,
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  do you talk to folks?
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  So every event we have,
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  there's always a moment where we'll explain why we're here and the purpose of,
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  you know,
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  the,
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  the trash that's dumped on a sidewalk.
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  It could be uh miles away from the intercoastal,
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  but every bit of trash it will has this way of getting into the intercostal through the waterway.
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  Oh.
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  So what you're saying is that even though we might have a paper cup or a candy wrapper or something that's lying on the side of the street that could be blocks away from the lagoon,
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  uh storm waters could carry it.
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  Exactly.
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  Wow.
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  And so that ends up being a poll pollution of that water and really damaging the ecosystem there.
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  Exactly.
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  So,
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  um,
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  and you know,
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  if I can add,
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  please,
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  uh you know,
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  living near the intercoastal,
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  you know,
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  our community is prone to flooding and to prevent that from happening,
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  we have to ensure that the drainage system are,
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  are clear.
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  Uh you know,
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  with them,
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  with them being blocked,
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  it's just uh problematic and you can,
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  everyone knows how belly.
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  Uh you know,
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  there's a king tide,
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  how bad area can flood.
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  Yeah.
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  And the king tide is a period of time where the water levels by nature are unusually high.
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  And so add any kind of storm or anything to that king tide can really cause an,
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  an issue on low lying areas that are prone to flooding.
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  Um ok,
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  so during say one of these cleanups,
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  you have a clean up on a weekend.
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  Uh People come out,
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  people pick up um Really,
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  how much stuff do you actually collect on any given clean up?
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  It could be anywhere from £50 up to £500 1000 pounds,
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  all depending on the area.
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  Ok.
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  So that,
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  that is a significant amount.
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  So,
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  ok,
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  so we,
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  we,
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  we talked a little bit about education.
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  We,
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  we gather during the events and talk to folks um what other ways and what other,
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  what ee efforts do you have to,
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  to tell people about not only keeping the area clean,
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  but also taking steps to improve our sustainability,
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  to improve the green quality of our,
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  of our,
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  of our city.
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  So improving the green,
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  I work with sustainability.
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  Um They're awesome team and department of planting trees and we're always dealing to educate the community on the importance of maintaining uh the vegetation that we have.
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  Yeah,
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  it's important for,
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  you know,
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  the,
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  you know,
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  shading of communities to lower the temperature of our neighborhoods and to,
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  uh,
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  you know,
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  it's the,
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  the air we breath.
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  Yeah.
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  You know,
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  and one of the things that I know that I was really surprised about because you have,
• 8:26
  you know,
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  you think of things like crushed pop cans and empty bottles and candy wrappers and chip containers and all that kind of stuff as being the,
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  the standard trash you see around.
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  Is it true that,
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  that cigarette butts have a lot to do with it?
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  Is that,
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  is that really an issue or is that sort of going on?
• 8:45
  No,
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  that is true.
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  The,
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  uh,
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  the most littered item is our cigarette butts.
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  Wow.
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  And so,
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  uh,
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  don't they just sort of fall apart and go back into the,
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  not at all.
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  They are not biodegradable.
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  Uh,
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  it's important that,
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  uh,
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  you know,
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  cigarette butts are disposed of properly.
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  What can we do as a city to,
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  to sort of manage that and try to keep it under control as a city we could,
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  uh,
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  collect the syrup butts and make sure that they are disposed of properly inside a container that's intended for syre buts.
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  Is this,
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  is it as big a problem as it used to be or is it,
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  is it on the decline or do you have any sense?
• 9:21
  No,
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  it,
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  it's,
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  it's still continuing to be an issue.
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  We talked a little bit about that.
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  There are multiple affiliates lo close by,
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  we have a county,
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  we have other cities,
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  Coral Gables.
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  That's one of them and there's,
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  and there's a key Florida.
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  Clean,
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  clean.
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  Isn't,
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  isn't there enough?
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  They're a uh our big sister.
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  You would call it organization where they are helping us as well.
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  We,
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  we're working with them when you say you work with them.
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  What sort of things do you do?
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  Uh So we've attend a um a conference,
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  an annual conference uh to go over best practices and um sharing of resources in,
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  in some cases,
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  uh we have access to certain grants.
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  For example,
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  there is a,
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  an F dot grant that keep Florida beautiful has access to and as affiliate,
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  we also have access to $15,000 potentially.
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  Fantastic.
• 10:18
  Ok.
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  So even though the program is comparatively young and it's only been around for a year or two,
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  you've had some success.
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  Uh Can you tell us about some of the things that you feel best about?
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  So,
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  so far year to date,
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  we've had over 32 events.
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  But our biggest event so far year to date has been international coastal cleanup.
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  We partnered with uh five different organizations.
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  It was a Palm Beach Atlantic Beach Bucket Foundation surface 71 visit Palm Beach and Palm Beach County.
• 10:48
  Yeah,
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  that's,
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  that was a year date.
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  Our probably our biggest event uh collectively we picked up over £12,000 of trash you date and it's uh you know,
• 10:58
  it was going forward.
• 10:59
  I mean,
• 11:00
  I don't know if the community is aware of it but public works is actively,
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  uh,
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  picking up illegally,
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  illegally dump material a year to date were,
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  well,
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  over 100 and 10 tons of debris.
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  And that's something else.
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  What about,
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  um,
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  abandoned cars?
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  Is that anything that you guys are involved with?
• 11:18
  Yep.
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  I'm a part of an abandoned vehicle.
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  And on the ban of vehicles we've,
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  uh,
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  tagged,
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  uh,
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  265 and out of that 265 87% have to comply with.
• 11:33
  Well,
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  basically they've been tagged and they've been moved and that cleans up the streets.
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  Exactly.
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  Compliance is what we're,
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  we're after.
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  What is the biggest challenge that you see as far as the mission of keep West Palm Beach beautiful.
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  What is the greatest challenge and thing that's keeping you from reaching your goals?
• 11:52
  I'm highly motivated to work with so many,
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  you know,
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  amazing people within the city.
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  I don't see the challenges.
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  I see the opportunities and I see the positive momentum that we've already making.
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  I mean,
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  I,
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  you know,
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  I have uh awesome,
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  amazing leadership within public works,
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  Leon Pender,
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  Amy Marks.
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  Um,
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  you know,
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  they're,
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  you know,
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  they've given me the,
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  uh the space to,
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  you know,
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  to operate and to help coordinate uh all the events that I could think of.
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  Um,
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  you know,
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  there's just been nothing but supportive but amongst the community.
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  Is there a mindset?
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  Is there a lack of information that you're really working?
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  Against what will make you even more successful out in the community than you already are.
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  So we get more successful is when we get the community,
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  uh more engaged within their own neighborhoods to clean up and take pride in their own communities.
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  When it comes to clean up soon,
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  we can always organize volunteers who may not be from that community,
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  but to have the communities themselves take pride in their community and wanna clean up.
• 12:51
  It all starts in,
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  in individual neighborhoods,
• 12:54
  people keeping their own blocks clean and policing and doing all the good things that are right next door.
• 13:00
  Exactly.
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  I mean,
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  really as much as just making sure you're in front of your own home is as clear as it can be,
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  if,
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  as beautiful as it can be.
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  That's,
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  that's what it comes down to.
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  That's why it's called West Palm Beach.
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  Keep West Palm Beach beautiful.
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  So it really develops pride.
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  You're into creating a sense of community pride in the community,
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  pride in the place that you live.
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  And that's,
• 13:22
  it seems to me like a cornerstone of what you're all doing.
• 13:26
  Absolutely.
• 13:27
  It's a,
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  now everyone deserves to live in a beautiful community.
• 13:31
  It doesn't matter your income level or where you're from or which neighborhood you live in.
• 13:35
  Um,
• 13:36
  every neighborhood has the same opportunity to be as beautiful as the next Dwayne.
• 13:40
  You have an opportunity.
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  Now you got the mic in front of you to share a message with the folks at home,
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  the people who are thinking about getting involved in the program,
• 13:49
  maybe volunteering and we're gonna talk about that in just a moment.
• 13:53
  Uh Maybe volunteering.
• 13:54
  What is the message you would want to share with them?
• 13:57
  Uh I,
• 13:58
  the message I would want to share about the program.
• 14:00
  Uh It's not my program,
• 14:02
  it's not the city's program.
• 14:03
  It's,
• 14:04
  it's your program,
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  it's uh a program intended for the community.
• 14:08
  Uh If you have ideas for an event,
• 14:11
  uh take ownership of it,
• 14:12
  you know,
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  be the lead.
• 14:14
  Uh my job here is to help coordinate,
• 14:16
  to help facilitate.
• 14:17
  And uh you know,
• 14:18
  I uh take pride in the connections I've made and the,
• 14:21
  the religions I,
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  I've built with the residents.
• 14:25
  Um our community partners,
• 14:27
  volunteer partners.
• 14:28
  I mean,
• 14:29
  it's just a,
• 14:29
  a community coming together to really make it happen.
• 14:33
  So you've mentioned a couple of times volunteers and becoming a volunteer.
• 14:37
  I guess the big question here is how do people become involved and volunteer to be part of the program?
• 14:44
  Well,
• 14:44
  Jerry,
• 14:45
  they can always go to W PB dot org slash beautiful.
• 14:49
  And that is our Key West Palm Beach,
• 14:50
  beautiful website.
• 14:52
  And from there,
• 14:52
  they can uh volunteer,
• 14:54
  they can be there,
• 14:55
  you know,
• 14:55
  uh volunteer to be a site coordinator where they can arrange their own cleanup events,
• 15:00
  which I will help facilitate,
• 15:02
  you know,
• 15:03
  with uh bags,
• 15:04
  gloves,
• 15:04
  pickers,
• 15:05
  buckets,
• 15:06
  and they can always give us a phone call.
• 15:08
  My number is 5618222148 and you can reach me by email.
• 15:15
  It's D white at W PB dot org.
• 15:20
  Fantastic,
• 15:21
  Dwayne.
• 15:22
  What you're doing is very,
• 15:23
  very important.
• 15:23
  We appreciate your time this afternoon.
• 15:25
  Oh,
• 15:26
  thank you,
• 15:26
  Jerry.
• 15:26
  Thank you for having me.
• 15:27
  The City Center podcast is produced by the City of West Palm Beach.
• 15:31
  We hope you found today's discussion useful.
• 15:33
  And if you did,
• 15:34
  please subscribe.
• 15:36
  If you have any questions or comments,
• 15:37
  please write us at podcast at W PB dot org.
• 15:43
  If you wish to learn more about keep West Palm Beach beautiful.
• 15:46
  Visit the city's website at W PB dot org,
• 15:50
  front slash beautiful.
• 15:52
  This is Jerry Marcelo.
• 15:54
  We'll see you next time.