nmij0907highwaysTwo Mill Valley residents, Jill Whitebook and Vicky Dehnert, took on the initiative to run a trash removal program after seeing for years litter piling up along Strawberry frontage road right by Highway 101 and wanted to put a stop to it. The non-profit Marin Clean Highway was founded in 2011 and is managed by volunteers who actively raises money needed to pay junk hauling and trash removal contractors to clean up the roads on both side of Highway 101 from Seminary Drive to the Tiburon Boulevard/East Blithedale exit.

Marin County has no budget for litter removal but Whitebook and Dehnert continued to beleaguer their county supervisor in granting them $5,000 to embark in their trash removal campaign. With the grant, they were able to hire hauling and trash removal contractors to clean up the road three times at a cost of $250 each. Whitebook and Dehnert are now trying to raise $20,000 to continue the cleanup maintenance for the next two years.

With the growing accomplishment they have made thus far, Whitebook and Dehnert hope to find a long-term sustainable solution for the road cleanup, more volunteers to perform fundraising and administrative tasks and more contributions.

Like Jill Whitebook and Vicky Dehnert, David Singer started his own junk removal and trash cleanup company due to the high demand for a cleaner environment in his city of Oakland. Through hard work and persistence, Fast Haul has expanded to serve various cities including Mill Valley and all of the Marin County.

Source: http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_24092674/mill-valley-women-start-litter-removal-program-seek

By: Ethan Malone