People in the Metro Get Ready to Dump Their Junk for Cleanup Week

They're throwing away extra garbage that isn't usually picked up during regular garbage collecting

FARGO, N.D. — When driving around the streets of the metro this week, you may see a few unusual things sitting on the curbs.

Laundry baskets, boogie boards, and even toilets are lining the streets as people are planning for the start of the metro-wide Cleanup Week.

People say they’re happy they get to throw away things that can’t fit in a regular trash can for no extra charge during this time.

“Not necessarily garbage, but just stuff you don’t use, and it just gets stuck in the attic, you don’t use it and it doesn’t have a place to go,” said Steve Smith, who has lived in Fargo for 15 years. “It needs to go somewhere.”

Over the years, crews have hauled away many pieces of trash and items that can’t be used anymore off of curbs, which people say is very convenient for them.

“We’ve been wanting to get rid of this stuff for a long time but it’s just really expensive to make 10 trips to the dump, so it’s a lot easier just to set it on the curb and wait,” said Mike Rausch, an NDSU student who cleaned out his garage.

Among all of the bags full of waste, people have also noticed other things they wouldn’t normally see on a regular garbage pickup day.

“I saw a gasoline tank next to a baby carrier, so that was an odd combination,” Rausch said. “And then down the road, there’s a really big first aid kit sitting out.”

As a whole, people say they’re relieved to get rid of objects to free up some space in houses and garages.

“It’s a little more comfortable,” Smith said. “A little more easygoing. It’s easier to have company over, there’s more room.”

“We had our garage full, nobody could park in the garage or anything, we just had a bunch of random junk in there and then threw it all on the curb, so it was a lot,” Rausch said.

If you see a bunch of random junk on the streets over the next few days, it’s not strange.

It’s just a part of the annual Cleanup Week.

Cleanup Week in the metro and the Grand Cities officially begins tomorrow morning and goes all week.