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Trash club keeps campus clean

Members of the BU Clean Up Crew work early hours on Fridays to pick up
trash on campus and the surrounding area.
Photo via Malini Wijesinghe

The BU Clean Up crew, also referred to as the BU Trash Club, has been helping the community clean up its act since the beginning of the school year.

The organization was founded in hopes of creating a cleaner city by senior Malini Wijesinghe. Club members gather on Friday mornings in different areas around campus and the surrounding areas of Peoria to clean up litter.

The goal was primarily to help the community and the environment making the earth look clean, Wijesinghe said. [It] fosters a lot of positive feelings for the community. People will walk down the street and say, Thank you for doing that.

Bradley students arent the only ones invited to help better the environment. Peoria citizens often join the students to help reach their goal of making the city a cleaner place to live. One of the clean-up dates included the mayor of Peoria.

Because of this, Wijesinghe said cleaning up the city inspires a greater sense of community between the citizens of Peoria by creating a stronger relationship for the people in the city and the students at Bradley.

I used to do this alone, Wijesinghe said. But now, I get to watch my friends and everyone else do [it]. I was able to help bring everyone together and get to see everyone be excited about what Im excited about.

According to Wijesinghe, the future goal of the club is to create a more efficient recycling program for the university. Wijesinghe also said she believes holding recycling competitions between dorms could be a smart way to aid in the recycling issue at Bradley.

Members of the BU Trash Club said that giving back to the community is a valuable part of the clubs membership.

[My favorite part is] working with the kids, Michael Timm said. Im from Peoria and its always something Ive taken for granted and its what I owe to the place I call home.

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