SOLVE, Portland Business Alliance, and Portland Lodging Alliance with the support of Ethos Commercial Advisors held their last Downtown Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day of 2020 on Friday. More than 226 volunteers attended the event, and many brought warm clothing to donate to Transition Projects’ ‘Keep Portland Warm’ winter clothing drive, adding to the spirit of giving back. In total, more than 3,100 pounds of litter and debris was removed from city sidewalks, parks, and business fronts. The totals from Friday add to the already impressive results from the last three Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Days. With today’s event being the last of the year, SOLVE is happy to report that more than 1,200 volunteers have removed over 13,000 pounds of litter from downtown Portland since these monthly events began in early September. The popularity of these events shows that Portlanders have a sincere pride in where they call home and are willing to come together as a community take care of it through the simple act of picking up litter. Volunteers who attended today’s event also were given “Here for Portland” stickers, a campaign that supports shopping small and local this holiday season. With so many people working from home, many Portlanders do not visit downtown as frequently as they used to. The Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day helps to bring community together in a place that has been hit hard economically by COVID-19. During the event, volunteers received heavy duty garbage bags, vinyl gloves, a safety vest, and a litter grabber before spreading out to clean the Rose City. Common items found include cigarette butts, disposable masks, and take-out containers. The cigarette butts collected at this event are recycled by Terracycle, and in-part due to the popularity of these events, SOLVE was able to reach more than half a million cigarette butts recycled with Terracycle. The next Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day will be held on January 18, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Anyone who is interested in joining SOLVE’s cleanup efforts should visit www.solveoregon.org to learn more and get involved. Disposal for the Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Days is donated by Central City Concern.