40 Volunteers Help Clean Arroyo Simi

More than three dozen volunteers picked up 813 pounds of trash at the Arroyo Simi over the weekend as the city kicked off its participation in National Pollution Prevention Week.

Forty volunteers worked along a 6-mile stretch of the river, including nearby trails and connecting flood control channels.

Saturday marked the first time the city organized its own event in conjunction with the annual California coastal and inland waterways cleanup day. John Brand, the city’s senior management analyst who coordinated the activities, said he was pleased with the turnout.

“Everyone I spoke with got a sense of satisfaction that they were doing something to help the community and the environment,” Brand said. “That’s the payoff, the feeling of making a contribution and some way of making a difference.”

Sunday was the city’s semiannual free landfill day, when residents could use the Simi Valley dump without charge. Brand said about 500 people turned out for that.

To conclude local participation in National Pollution Prevention Week, the city will have a display at Moorpark Country Days this weekend to educate residents about storm-water quality and proper disposal of hazardous wastes.

Brand said the exhibit is interactive and filled with facts about the environment, as well as the effects everyday household appliances and products can have on it.