Atlanta has announced a program to hire 20 residents from the Vine City and English Avenue neighborhoods to help clean the Proctor Creek watershed of litter, debris and illegal dumping.
The Proctor Creek Trash Free Waters Community Workforce Program, a 12-week pilot program, also will remove litter from the Northwest Atlanta and Atlanta University Center communities. city officials said. Workers will be paid $12 an hour.
Program participants include the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, Atlanta Workforce Development Agency, the Community Improvement Association’s Proctor Creek Leadership Council, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region IV Trash Free Waters Program.
Ultimately, the city wants to restore nine miles of waterway to reduce flooding, add green space, spur economic development and create trails, such as a proposed trail from the Atlanta Beltline to the Chattahoochee River.
“We are certain that the city of Atlanta will establish best practices that communities nationwide can adapt for cleaning waterways and promoting job creation opportunities,” said Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, director of the sustainability office.
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Credit: AP
