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LETITIA STEINIn a summerlong cleanup effort, community members are invited to pitch their household eyesores - a different type for each month - in a communal Dumpster.
If you live in Seffner, Mango or Thonotosassa, it's time to clean up.
A three-month cleaning campaign aims to rid the community of eyesores. Each month through August, residents can deposit specific items in a communal Dumpster parked at 9606 Joe Ebert Road - in the front yard of the community cleanup's chief organizer, Pauline Larry Grant. This month, the cleanup kicked off with a call for unwanted electric appliances, such as stoves, refrigerators and televisions. Next month, residents can discard household furniture. In August, the effort ends with a roundup of rubber tires, batteries and other large items.
Dumping is permitted seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
"When I get a Dumpster full, I can call in, and the collection company will pick that one up and bring me an empty one - as many as I can use," said Grant, president of the Thonotosassa, Seffner, Mango Civic Association.
To fund the effort, the group received $2,500 grant from the county's Office of Neighborhood Relations. Other Hillsborough homeowners associations, including the Bloomingdale Homeowners Association in Valrico, have earned similar grants to clean up.
"What makes this one different is that it's being done in three phases, where they are collecting different kinds of things each time," said Shelley Blood, the county's neighborhood relations officer. "I think it's probably a real practical idea."
Volunteers are monitoring the trash bin to guard against inappropriate dumping. So far, residents have appreciated the effort.
A woman whose husband and son passed away recently dropped off several computers from the family's former business, said Grant, who comforted the grieving woman and earned her thanks.
"It was worth doing this, just for that," Grant said.
- Letitia Stein can be reached at 661-2443 or lstein@sptimes.com
What to dump?
June: Electrical appliances.
July: Household furniture.
August: Rubber tires, batteries, wheel covers, etc.
Where to dump?
9609 Joe Ebert Road.
When to dump?
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.