Press Release

Temescal Valley Wash to Get a Spring Cleaning During
Keep American Beautiful “Great American Cleanup” Event
Waste Management and Temescal Valley volunteers work
together for a cleaner community

Temescal Valley, CA, May 8, 2008 - Temescal Valley residents will have the opportunity to participate this Spring in the yearly national Keep America Beautiful tradition “Great American Cleanup” and help clean a vital area in their community.

The cleanup event is being sponsored by a $5,000 grant awarded to Waste Management El Sobrante Landfill through its corporate partnership with Keep America Beautiful. The Great American Cleanup is the nation's largest community improvement program; it takes place annually from March 1 through May 31 and attracts more than 3 million volunteers to clean up and improve over 17,000 communities across America.

The Temescal Valley cleanup event will take place in the Temescal Wash area, a waterway that drains into the Santa Ana River, located adjacent to the Interstate 15. The Temescal Wash is a critical habitat for native plants, wildlife and bird species.

"Being good stewards of the environment is one of Waste Management’s core values and events such as the Great American Cleanup exemplifies our company’s commitment to be good neighbors to our communities and to the environment,” said Damon De Frates, Senior District Manager for El Sobrante Landfill. “Keeping the Temescal Wash clean is critical for the wildlife and plants that call the wash their home and depend on the wash for survival.”

The event will bring volunteers from local residential communities, schools, scout troops, and church groups together to pickup trash, weeds and other debris in the Temescal Wash area. With support from Supervisor Bob Buster’s office, additional clean up help will come from County of Riverside Departments of Code Enforcement and Environmental Health, the Western Riverside Council of Governments, Waste Management Division, and State of California Department of Fish & Game.

“The Great American Cleanup provides a unique opportunity to showcase the importance of volunteerism and giving back to the community, " said Supervisor Bob Buster, 1st District Riverside County Supervisor. "Our office is excited to be involved in the clean up because it symbolizes how the community can work together to bring about positive change.”

The Temescal Valley Cleanup event will be held from 8 am to 12 noon on Saturday, April 17th. Free Temescal Valley Team t-shirts and lunch prepared by firemen from Sycamore Creek Fire Station #64 will be provided to the volunteers. Waste Management will encourage the school aged volunteers to submit a short essay about what they learned during the cleanup event. Winners will be notified later in the month and presented their award during the Temescal Valley Advisory Council meeting in June.

Photo Opportunity: Supervisor Buster will kick off event at 8:30 a.m.

Waste Management’s El Sobrante Landfill is located in the unincorporated area of Riverside County. The landfill serves more than one million Inland Empire residents and is a critical component of Riverside County and the greater Los Angeles region’s infrastructure. The site has more than XXX acres in permanent preservation and is a critical component of preserving open space in Riverside County. For more information on the landfill, please go to www.keepinginlandempireclean.com.

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