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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- You can ask just about anyone in the Hilltop and they'll tell you: litter is a big problem.
It's a problem long-time resident Lisa Boggs is addressing head-on through an annual neighborhood cleanup event.
On May 1, Boggs hosted the 19th Annual South Central Hilltop Spring Cleanup. A diverse crowd of residents, volunteers, community leaders, and public officials got together for one purpose: to pick up trash in the streets.
"We started out with just a few people at the side of my house. We did one street and that was back in 2002. We've been doing it every year," Boggs said. "When a community is blighted and trashed, people don't respect it and people don't feel good about living there. More than that, it's just horrible for our Earth."
The participants broke off into small groups, each assigned to a section of the neighborhood. Armed with trash pickers and bags, they scanned the streets raising awareness along the way.
"We need to make a presence out in these streets because this is where the kids are," Boggs said. "[We are] making a presence known to the area neighbors that there are people here that still care."
In their safety vests, Savon Jones, Sr. and his three children collected litter along Ogden Avenue. Jones said it was a last-minute decision to participate. His seven-year-old son saw the crowd from outside the home where Jones stays.
"They wanted to be here themselves - that's why I love it," he explained. "They said, 'Daddy, is it a protest going on?' I said, 'They need some help outside.' He said, 'Please let us go help them.' So that's why we're here.'"
When asked how he would describe the Hilltop, Jones called it the "dirtiest place in Columbus." Still, he said he chooses to stay.
"It shouldn't be as bad as it is," Jones said. "Five years from now? This is going to be a bad place. That's if y'all don't start investing into this place ... the mayor, the governor - they are the ones that have to put their foot down."
Still, Jones believes each person is responsible for doing their part to make the neighborhood a better place.
"This is going to make us better in some type of way," Jones said as he held up a now full bag of trash. "I think this helps, but we have to keep doing this. We can't just do this once a year, you feel me?"
Boggs agrees.
"When it's warmer weather. I'm out a couple times a week cleaning trash in my immediate neighborhood and I like going to other people's trash cleanups too," she said. 10TV's Angela Reighard asked her why she does it. Boggs took a moment repeating the question slowly then simply replied, "Because it needs done."
Residents know small acts won't fix a big problem. Still, they believe being present and engaged is critical to creating a better community.
"There will be trash out on the ground again, but the trash that we pick up today will never be on the ground again and that gives us solace that, 'Hey, we made a difference today.' Today is all we have."
Columbus City Councilmember Emmanuel Remy is chair of the environment committee. He created the Cleaner Columbus Initiative in 2019, which aims to teach people about the issue of litter, promote recycling, and stop illegal dumping.
"We have a stake in the game and we need to be doing the hard work and hopefully that starts to diminish so the volunteers don't have to do as much, but it is something that seems neverending," Remy said.
At the annual cleanup event, Remy announced the city is investing $2.5 million to employ young people and others to make a difference in the community by doing things like helping clean up the streets.
"I believe that we're making an impact - there's a huge mountain ahead of us - but we are working on this daily and diligently and we will eventually succeed," he said.
Hilltop residents have wondered if it's possible to increase the number of city trash collections in the area. Remy said that would cost "tens of millions of dollars."
"We've talked about it," he explained. "The reality is if we do it there, we have to do it across the city ... we've got to find alternative solutions and really make sure people are learning more about recycling, committing to recycling, and doing their part."
If you are interested in learning more about how to recycle in Columbus, click here.