The Love Your Neighborhood program is an “action-ready” stormwater pollution prevention initiative for Riverside County that spans across 27 cities and three watersheds: Middle Santa Ana River, Santa Margarita, and Whitewater River watersheds.

The goal of the program is to increase pollution awareness and its impact on the environment through local cleanup efforts coordinated by partner cities and local agencies. The program will also obtain real-time data to track the number of pollutants removed from communities in support of stormwater mandates required by state permits.

Love Your Neighborhood aims to empower cities, community groups and residents to conduct their own cleanup events to help minimize stormwater pollution in our watersheds. We encourage each partner city to join us in promoting local cleanup activities of their own and rally residents to help with the reduction of litter and pollutants in their neighborhood and beyond.

Program Overview

Love Your Neighborhood is a pollution prevention initiative administered by the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) and supported through a sponsorship with Riverside County Watershed Protection Program (RCWPP) and Riverside County Flood Control (RCFC) to meet compliance objectives with the MS4 Permits and other mandates related to solid waste, recycling and household hazardous waste that align with WRCOG’s mission and support existing programs.

Quantifiable results will be tracked for litter removal and other behaviors that support mandates set by state agencies including CalRecycle and the California Regional Water Quality Control Boards.

Key Issues

Four key issues are addressed through this initiative and data from each event will be documented to be used for reporting to the state.

• Litter: Litter is waste that has been thrown anywhere except an appropriate place for trash, such as a trash can, bin, or other designated place. Examples of trash includes papers, food wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic bags, tire and automobile debris are among common trash tossed in parks, bodies of water and roadways. Whether someone intentionally or unintentionally litters, the results have environmental impacts.
• Recycling: Small actions like bringing reusable bags to the grocery store or having a recycling bin at home can go a long way. Properly recycling single-use products such as coffee k-cups, plastic grocery bags, water bottles, and other plastic items creates less trash that will likely end up in a storm drain and dumped in our oceans.
• Household Hazardous Waste: Typical household items that people may not think are hazardous can harm the environment, including domestic animals and wildlife. Everyday items such as light bulbs, batteries and electronics all need to be disposed of safely. Additional items found around the home that are hazardous include pesticides, paints, pool cleaners, solvents and a wide range of household cleaners, all of which should always be taken to a certified collection facility.
• Overwatering: Overwatering causes irrigation runoff that may contain pollutants such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, pet waste, yard waste, and sediments which can be harmful to residents and our environment. Runoff can also serve as a transport mechanism for other pollutants already on the ground or in gutters.