Fall cleanup will take place Tuesday and Wednesday

As we approach our fall cleanup, take a moment to reflect on why we work together to accomplish the Base Pride Plan. We dedicate time to clean where we work and clean where we live to make a happier and healthier you. In fact, the environments where we work and live greatly influence our health, attitude and productivity. The smallest of courtesies such as emptying the trash, sweeping the floors and dusting the office can play a big part in reducing asthma, allergies, colds and the flu. By working together, we can make a dramatic impact on the places we see every day. This is why the 86th Airlift Wing and U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz are setting aside Tuesday and Wednesday to focus on improving the KMC.

Tuesday is for cleaning administrative and industrial facilities, grounds and common areas across the KMC by facility managers and building occupants. Objectives for this day include litter collecting, weed pulling, trimming overgrown shrubs, tidying plant beds, removing tree limbs and pine cones, and raking and bagging leaves and placing debris into biodegradable bags. Interior suggestions include cleaning stairwells, entries, carpets, cleaning out storage rooms, purging old files, washing windows and even doing some minor touch-up painting. The unit areas-of-responsibility are published in Ramstein AB Instruction 36-2901.

To help get this work done, facility managers may go to the U-Fix-It store to check out tools, weed eaters, hedge trimmers, power washers, rakes, shovels and more. The KMC U-Fix-It store is located on Ramstein, Bldg. 505. Store hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and can be reached at 480-5034.

Wednesday is for cleaning military housing exteriors. Goals for this day include weeding, trimming, raking, bagging and placing debris into biodegradable bags. Remember to include common areas such as playgrounds, walkways and areas around the underground trash containers. Participation is mandatory for housing residents, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun working in groups to make your community better.

To assist residents, the KMC Self-Help stores have a variety of equipment, tools, grass seed, biodegradable bags and other materials available. The KMC Housing Self-Help stores are located on Ramstein in Bldg. 859 and can be reached at 06371-46-39520 and on Vogelweh in Bldg. 1070 and can be reached at 0631-357-90915.

The 786th Civil Engineer Squadron will provide curbside pickup for tree limbs, branches, leaves, weeds and bulk trash items. To facilitate composting, place weeds and leaves in biodegradable bags while separating branches into two piles — one pile for small stems up to 4 inches in diameter and another pile for larger material. Nonbiodegradable items should be properly sorted and disposed of in garbage dumpsters. Items such as batteries, glass, bulk paper and metal must be taken to the nearest recycling center: Bldg. 5146 on Ramstein or Bldg. 2820 on Kapaun.