Community comes together to help clean up big mess in Nipomo

It was the clean up after the clean up.

On Tuesday, a team of volunteers came out to help clear out the huge mess when last Saturday’s Nipomo Community Clean Up Day went awry.

Since the event ended earlier than expected, people have been illegally dumping trash at a vacant parking lot on the corner of South Frontage Road and Hill Street.

Mountains of trash, including tires, mattresses, televisions, hazardous waste, clothing, personal documents and much more were all strewn about the property, creating an unsightly and dangerous mess.

The gigantic mess tarnished what was suppose to be a positive community event.

Motivated to help clean it all up was a all-volunteer effort that came throughout the South County town.

“Based off the news from last night, I had over 30 emails, most of them from complete strangers offering to come out and help,” said event organizer Richard Malvarose.

Starting early Tuesday morning, volunteers worked hard to organize the trash so it could be placed in large dumpsters and hauled away.

“Had to come by and help,” said volunteer Nikki Uvalle. “I love it. People in this community, when there’s a need, they show up.”

“Everybody is out here totally volunteering,”said volunteer Kimberley Victor. “Nobody was called, nobody was asked. They showed up just on their own and it’s pretty awesome.”

In addition to community volunteers, help came from a variety of other sources.

“Our entire County Code Enforcement team is out here with their grubbies on and everyone is pitching in right now and we’re trying to solve this mess,” said San Luis Obispo County Coder Enforcement Supervisor Art Trinidade.

There was also help from the Nipomo Community Services District (NCSD) and from inmates from the County Jail honor farm.

According to Trinidade, most the funding to help pay for the trash removal came from the NCSD.

“It’s coming from the Nipomo Community Services District solid waste funds that the board has agreed to pay,” Trindiad said. “There’s some money that came from County Supervisor, South County Advisory, but the lion’s share came from the Nipomo community.”

Malvarose said six large metal dumpsters were hauled off during the day, with six more scheduled to arrive on Wednesday.

Incredibly, as volunteers worked throughout the morning, people were still driving up the site with large truck loads of trash ready to dump.

However, they were turned away and told by county officials that anyone caught dumping faces a $1,000 fine or six months in jail.

While the volunteers made a remarkable clean up of the parking lot, several dumpers and trash piles will remain on the site until taken away.

Malvarose believes it should all be removed by Wednesday.

In the meantime, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff deputies will continue an increase patrol of the area looking for illegal dumpers.

Malvarose added the extra patrol will continue for at least the next couple of weeks.

While discouraged by the actions of a few, the community workhorse was happy, but not surprised to see how many people of Nipomo come out and help

“The aftermath of the initial event was certainly not Nipomo,” Malvarose said. “But we live in a great town and this is Nipomo.”