The Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center would like to thank all the participants of Cleanup Day this past Saturday, May 2, at the chamber’s parking lot. 

A total of 800 bags of trash were brought to the Dumpsters and recycle bin provided by Alaska Waste. Of those, 605 bags were brought in by groups/non-profits, 19 by individuals, 155 by families and 21 by youth. Of the 800 bags of trash collected, 181 bags were recyclables.   

Trash was collected from around the Homer area including trails, beaches, empty lots and along the highway. In addition to the normal trash collected, additional items brought in included 20 tires, a plastic chair and batteries. 

Prizes were awarded in five categories to include group or nonprofit, family, youth ages 6-10, youth ages 11-15, and Individual. Two bikes were awarded for first place in the two youth categories, plus every youth who brought in a bag of trash was eligible to win an additional two bikes. The Kachemak Bay Lions Club donated all the bikes and cooked hot dogs for all participants.   

A big “Thank You” goes out to our event sponsors:  Alaska Waste for donating the garbage/recycle Dumpsters and snacks; Kachemak Bay Lions for cooking hot dogs and donating the youth bikes; Kachemak Bay Rotary for providing more than 20 volunteers who loaded garbage and tallied the numbers; Kenai Peninsula Borough for 3,000 cleanup bags; and Loopy Lupine Distribution for donating the staff to sort recycling bags into the appropriate bins.  

We also would like to thank all the businesses who donated money and prizes to make this event happen: AmericasCuisine, Barb’s Video, Boss Hoggz, Cookie’s Country Greenhouse, Spenard Builders, Cosmic Kitchen, Homer Theatre and Sustainable Wares. Safeway and Alaska Glacier Water provided beverages and Fat Olives donated food for our many volunteers who helped to make this another successful event.  

A special mention goes out to the HoWL (Homer Wilderness Leaders) youth for the countless hours of picking up trash all over the community, turning in 458 bags of trash and 128 bags of recyclables. And thank you to our chamber volunteers who helped with set-up, hosted the visitor center and tear-down. 

This is truly a team effort event supported by our community, ensuring our roadways, beaches and trails are clear of trash to enjoy by Homer’s year-round residents and visitors alike.   

Karen Zak, executive director

Homer Chamber of Commerce