A PREVIOUS TEAM OF VOLUNTEERS POSES NEAR THE TRASH THEY COLLECTED IN GARFIELD DURING PITTSBURGH’S ANNUAL GARBAGE OLYMPICS. JOIN A TEAM IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD FOR SATURDAY’S EVENT, HELD FROM 9 TO 11 A.M. | PHOTO COURTESY OF EVENT ORGANIZER RENEE ROBINSON

Are you competitive? Do you want to make a difference in your neighborhood this weekend?

Join forces with family and friends to compete in the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works’ annual Garbage Olympics, and see if you have what it takes to defeat last year’s champions, Allentown.

From 9 to 11 a.m. this Saturday, Sept. 23, residents in 35 city neighborhoods, plus Penn Hills, will compete for prizes to see who can collect the most trash. 

The Department of Public Works and the Clean Pittsburgh Commission will provide bags, gloves, safety vests and “nifty nabber” litter grabbers for the competition.

Public works employees will collect the trash from designated locations in each neighborhood and Pennsylvania Resources Council representatives, the city’s hard-to-recycle vendor, will recycle found television sets.

There’s still time for interested residents to find registered neighborhood teams, captain contact information and meeting spots on the website. Interested participants can also email organizers here. 

Pittsburgh’s anti-litter specialist and event organizer Chris Mitchell said in a city press release cleaning up litter accomplishes dozens of things each time it is done.

“It raises pride in your community. It makes your community safer. It makes your community stronger. It makes the land and water around you less poisonous. It discourages further littering by keeping it clean in the first place,” he said.

The 2023 winners will be announced at a closing ceremony at Threadbare Cider House, 1291 Spring Garden Ave. in Spring Garden, beginning at noon.

This year’s participating neighborhoods are:

Central North Side, Marshall-Shadeland, Spring Hill City View, Perry South, East Allegheny, Lower Lawrenceville, California-Kirkbride, Spring Garden, Garfield, East Liberty, Upper Lawrenceville, Shadyside, Central Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Friendship, Stanton Heights, Greenfield, South Oakland, Central Oakland, Polish Hill, Squirrel Hill North, West Oakland, Frick Park, Bluff, Brookline, South Side Slopes, Mount Oliver, Beechview, Carrick, Allentown, South Side Flats, Duquesne Heights, Sheraden, Westwood and Penn Hills.

The Garbage Olympics began in 2017 with five teams. Since then, more than 3,000 volunteers have picked up more than 3,350 bags of trash, 1,500 tires and 900 TVs.