Do Your Part: One Piece Initiative

One Piece, a neighborhood cleanup initiative, has arrived in Federal Hill, thanks to Federal Hill Neighborhood Association treasurer Gayle McClure and City Councilor Bill Cole.

Begun with some success in District 7, it is hoped that One Piece will be spread citywide. The initial focus of the project is on awareness.

“People who move here think the gutters magically get cleaned up,” said Gayle. “The city doesn’t do that – neighbors do that.”

The first One Piece meeting was held March 11, with representatives of Federal Hill Neighborhood Association, South Baltimore Neighborhood Association, Federal Hill South Neighborhood Association, and Digital Harbor High School.  Attendees brainstormed ideas for how to get the message out, tailor it to specific audiences, and even create rewards programs for those who sign the “One Piece pledge” to pick up and dispose of a piece of trash each day.

“If every resident in the city of Baltimore picked up one piece of trash, think how clean the Inner Harbor would be,” Gayle said.

She hopes to gain support from the Federal Hill Hospitality Association and the Business Association, as well as schools. She says this isn’t a short-term endeavor. Instead, she hopes it will become a long-term, sustained effort.

According to Gayle, there hasn’t been a trash program in the city of Baltimore since the 1980s. The city isn’t responsible for trash clean-up. That job falls on the individual neighborhoods. She has faith that the Federal Hill neighborhood is up to the task. “I think as a community, we can do it.”

The next One Piece meeting is Monday, March 25, 6 pm, at Federal Hill Main Street, 42 E. Cross Street.

Elizabeth Nelson, Intern