As people move out of camps, clean-ups follow
People are moving out of the tent cities, but a lot of their stuff is staying behind.
It won’t be there for long.
Once police have finished their rounds at a camp, Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful will show up a few days later to clean it. The campers are being given time to gather what they want and leave the rest behind.
Next week, KCSB will clean the Cimarron camp that officers went through on Thursday.
The detritus left by a record number of campers is taking a toll on the nonprofit, which receives $45,000 a year from the city. That helps cover about 12 camp cleanups, said Executive Director Dee Cunningham.
“We’re going to be needing to do probably at least 20 to 24 this year,” she said.
The agency is getting help from volunteers. Waste Connections donated two dumpsters for next week’s cleanup, and 100 Air Force Academy Cadets will volunteer in April for a Fountain Creek cleanup. A community cleanup around the creek is scheduled for May.
“We’re going to get it back where nature intended it to be,” Cunningham said.
