SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — In the South Bay, Santa Clara County is stepping up efforts to clean up garbage.  Seeing trash along the side of the road, or anywhere, is a big concern. In Santa Clara County, officials are asking for the public’s help to identify places that need a cleanup.

Santa Clara County has launched a new web portal where the public can report trash trouble spots. The county has a $2M budget to dispatch teams, like the San Jose Conservation Corp. to pick up the garbage.

State Senator Dave Cortese helped secure the funding. He says that even though picking up trash may not seem like a top priority, it’s something that means a lot to residents and businesses.

“This community is a place that needs to be cleaned up,” Sen. Cortese said. “So that people continue to want to live here, and young people don’t pick up the psychology that this is just the way it is.” 

The cleanup is also not limited to Santa Clara County property. The goal is to pick up trash anywhere in the county, whether it be a city, county, or even state-owned land.

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“We are doing this work all over the county,” Cortese said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s unincorporated, or within city limits, we have been coordinating with all the municipalities that we are addressing areas that they are concerned about. That they find as priorities, that they want to clean up, so we work very closely with them.”

The cleanup effort currently has funding secured through 2024.