Puyallup Mayor joins Pretty Up Puyallup in city cleanups

PUYALLUP, Wash. — Since March, Mayor Jim Kastama has taken matters into his own hands by supporting Pretty Up Puyallup and doing clean-ups along State Route (SR) 512 and SR 167.

Pretty Up Puyallup is a community-born effort to keep downtown and the surrounding areas free of unsightly trash.

“We pick up around 11 to 15 bags every cleanup. And that is just the downtown area. We don’t go outside downtown yet, but I have goals to grow our clean-up territory outside of downtown,” Pretty Up Puyallup founder, Renee Muir said.

The mayor, City Councilmembers Julie Door, Dennis King, Renne Gilliam, and Lauren Adler have personally dedicated their time to support the cause. They even recruited their family members to partake.

“The size and scale of the trash along the highways had reached a tipping point. It is getting much worse,” said Kastama. “Our State likes to say it is environmentally friendly, but I see a very different reality when I drive along our highways.”

As a result, Mayor Kastama requested assistance from the state and soon the Department of Ecology had cleanup crews around SR 512 and SR 167.

Pretty Up Puyallup looks to expand its cleanup efforts and with the support of the City of Puyallup, Muir believes it is possible.

“The larger we can grow our volunteer group, the further we can travel. I want these cleanups to be fun and enjoyable,” Muir said

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