Has Anyone Organized a Multi-Site Community Clean-Up? Need Advice

Hey everyone,
I’m working on a project here in Thomasville and wanted to reach out for some input from anyone who has organized similar clean-up events in their jurisdictions.

Our city is exploring the idea of hosting a city-wide Community Clean-Up Weekend twice a year, starting with one right after Christmas. The goal is to give residents a designated time to get rid of household junk, yard debris, small appliances, scrap metal, furniture, and even electronics. Basically anything non-hazardous that tends to pile up around the holidays.

Thomasville is broken into five general service areas (central, north, east, south, and west), and the idea is to place one drop-off site in each area. This keeps travel reasonable for residents and spreads traffic out so one location isn’t overwhelmed. Each site would have a small staff crew, and we’d have CSOs available strictly for traffic control or any safety concerns that might come up.

We would NOT accept hazardous waste, chemicals, paint, tires, contractor debris, or refrigerant-bearing appliances. Everything else should be manageable.

Before I finalize the plan and move it up the chain, I’m hoping to hear from anyone who has done something similar:

What worked well for you?

-- Any challenges with traffic flow or site management?

-- Did residents bring a lot of prohibited materials?

-- How many staff did you find were ideal per site?

-- Any surprises or “wish we’d thought of that” lessons?

I want to make sure we launch this with a solid foundation, so any tips or real-world experience you can share would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance. GACE always comes through with great advice!