More than 30 people volunteered Sunday morning to help make Pottsville cleaner by sweeping and picking up litter in the second annual cleanup sponsored by the Pottsville Area Development Corp.'s downtown aesthetics committee.
They encountered debris such as a red No. 9 UNO card, pieces of glass, cigarette butts, a carpet, a sweater and myriad other items.
The volunteers met at 10 a.m. at the Capitol Parking Garage, North Progress Avenue and Race Street. At least 32 people walked city streets in the cleanup effort that lasted until noon, according to city police Capt. Steve Durkin.
At the garage, volunteers collected 11 bags of trash. Kreitzer Sanitation, Orwigsburg, will pick up the trash.
Patrick Murphy, owner of Murphy's Jewelers and chairman of the aesthetic committee, said he appreciates the people who volunteer to pick up others' litter.
The event, he said, is to "bring out the pride of the city."
This is the second year for the cleanup. Last year, about 60 people took part.
Local businesses donated supplies and gift cards, Amy Burkhart, executive director of PADCO, said.
Murphy said he hoped to have more people than last time.
Durkin predicted there could be fewer volunteers this year because of events going on in the city such as The Block of Art.
"It's a great event. We're really pleased that so many people came to help out," Burkhart said.
The volunteers included residents young and old.
Durkin said he expected to find lots of cigarettes and "pretty much your average everyday litter."
In a quick walk from the parking garage toward Centre Street, Karen Damon found cigarette butts.
"It doesn't look dirty," she said of the sidewalk, "but you see it in the cracks and everything."
A grass plot off of Third Street was home to various items including black flip-flops on a fence. Patrick Moran, 13, left them there because he didn't know if the owner was coming back for them.
He said the plot is nice but "to other people it's a huge trash can."
Moran, an eighth-grader at the Pottsville Area School District's D.H.H. Lengel Middle School, also participated in the 2012 cleanup. He said he found a lot of cigarette butts and soda cans last year.
Nothing really surprised him about what litter was found, Moran said.
"I encourage other people to get out and help their community the best they can," he said.
Emmet Portland, 5, did his part to help out. He used a shovel to pick up cigarettes and dirt. His father, Adrian Portland, 39, of Saint Clair and ecology club adviser for Pottsville Area High School, said several students from the club were demonstrating their love of the environment.
He came out "just to get Earth Day started a little early," Portland said.
Today is Earth Day.
"It's not OK to litter. If we can get that mentality into the younger generation then maybe we won't have as much problems with stuff on the side of the roads," he added.
Rachel Shields, 17, a junior at Pottsville Area High School and member of the ecology club, was another volunteer.
"I'm surprised at how much glass we're finding," she said.
Michael Maley, assistant principal at the middle school, said several students from the school participated.
Community involvement is important, he said.