Emerson-Garfield will be holding its 2015 neighborhood-wide Spring Cleanup on Saturday, April 18 between 9am and 12:30pm.

This popular annual event organized by the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council is designed to help you get rid of all the junk that’s been cluttering your garage, backyard or basement — as much as you’ve got, and it’s all for free.

Just like in years past, there will be a roll-off container site at Faith Bible Church (600 W Cora) where you can pull up in your car or truck and dispose of the following:

• “Clean green” and general refuse. This includes untainted green waste (e.g., leaves, grass cuttings) and everyday trash.
• The Salvation Army collects reusable goods and e-cycle items — functional, gently used electronics such TVs, digital cameras and printers.
• Metal recycling. Under this category falls microwaves, stoves, small lawn mowers — that is, any 99% metal items with a few tiny non-metal tidbits (but no items that contain freon or liquids).

A couple of caveats to keep in mind:

• Household hazardous waste (e.g., paints, solvents) will not be accepted this year. Ours was the only neighborhood to make regular use of that offering, so it got cut from the program. Bummer.
• No construction items like concrete and drywall. There are a variety of reasons for this, one of them being that they disproportionately inflate the container weight.
• Emerson-Garfield residents only. If you don’t actually live in the neighborhood, you can’t offload your stuff.

If you appreciate or make use of this free event, you can give back by volunteering. Just send an e-mail to Karl Boldt and request either a loading or non-loading task. Loading requires someone strong and physically fit. Non-loading includes responsibilities like traffic control, ID check, or conducting the annual “wants and needs” survey.

Volunteers will need to be onsite from 8am to 1pm. Oh, and they’ll get treated to a pancake breakfast free pizza afterwards.

Social media buffs can RSVP to Spring Cleanup on Facebook or on Nextdoor.