Pleasanton’s distinction as the cleanest city in California has recently gained the spotlight. The official ranking, published by Lawnstarter, was actually measuring the “least dirty” cities in the U.S., and Pleasanton was ranked number nine.
“This award is the acknowledgement of the hard work that the community and staff of the City of Pleasanton put into it. And it’s a reflection of their hard work. It’s both the city and the community. You couldn’t do it without them, and they couldn’t do it without us. It’s a partnership,” said Tamara Baptista, Pleasanton’s Assistant Director of Public Works Operation and Maintenance.
Ensuring cleanliness requires teamwork
Ensuring the day-to-day cleanliness of a city that is about 630 million square feet and over 150 years old is no easy feat. Yet, Pleasanton has a well-developed system to make it work.
“There are a lot of services that go into making Pleasanton a clean city. So we have our part of our services that Public Works provides, which is a franchise agreement with Pleasanton garbage service. We have garbage trash collection services that we do. So we go around all the parks and collect trash. That’s a priority for us. We also have street sweeping for the fall,” said Baptista.
Not only do the staff of the City of Pleasanton work to prioritize the cleanliness of the city among city officials, but they also involve the community. Pleasanton has a Park Ambassador program. Volunteers from the community who sign up to be a Park Ambassador are assigned a neighborhood park. They visit the park each week, collecting any trash on the floor and ensuring it is safe and enjoyable.
“At first, I was really surprised when I heard that Pleasanton was named California’s cleanest city, but then I realized that it makes sense. I was impressed with the amount of effort that must have gone into keeping the city clean…cleanliness was something I was aware of in Pleasanton, but I never really considered how it would measure up to other cities,” said Avery Gore (‘27).
Amador students get involved
Amador Valley’s students are involved in cleaning up Pleasanton in a variety of different ways. One of those ways is through the Local Leaders club.
“We do a lot of online outreach, so we always try to make an effort for people to know about what’s going on in the environment, and we also do a lot of cleanups, too. We’ve gotten cleaners in the past that help,” said Local Leaders Club President Udita Saha (‘27).
The Local Leaders club not only focuses on cleanups, but it also educates people about environmental policy. Informing residents about their environmental impact is just as important as picking up trash in keeping the city clean.
“I think [the Cleanest City Award] goes to show how far Pleasanton has come and how we’ve progressed as a community. This award is a really big milestone, and it’s something we’re really proud of because it shows that the policies we spread and implement are useful and that they’re worth it,” said Saha.
Care for the city’s cleanliness is created through Pleasanton’s community, as well as schools and their educational programs. Students in the Pleasanton Unified School District often learn long-lasting habits that benefit both residents and the city,
“We have different groups, and one of the groups is youth outreach. We go to elementary schools and teach children how to correctly sort their waste and not litter…When you’re teaching this to children, it’s kind of reinforcing these habits as they grow older,” said Saha.
