Border cleanup held to aid Border Patrol and nearby agriculture

Volunteers who came out to help ended up collecting 22 bags worth of trash, helping out surrounding groups in the process - 13 On Your Side's Luis Lopez reports.

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Early Sunday morning while other residents in Yuma, were getting up and enjoying their morning, others could be found at the border helping with cleanup efforts.

The efforts started early in the morning when people began to meet up at the Food City supermarket before driving out to the border.

Upon arriving, volunteers were met with scattered trash. Things like water bottles, old shoes, and even passports were found.

The event was organized by Gary Snyder, who is running for Arizona Senate soon.

Snyder organized the clean-up with the intention of helping groups like border patrol, along with the surrounding community, like the farms located right next to the border.

"That trash is next to agriculture, to canals, which poison the canals, agriculture wise we know that food helps provide for us, other parts of the country, and you know the farm workers already have it as hard as it is, you know us as citizens, we need to step up and help them as well,” Snyder said.

Several people came out to help with the cleanup, something Snyder was very appreciative of.

“It’s beautiful, anyone that can come out and help and donate their own time, especially at this time, it’s beautiful, it’s stepping out for our community.”

Snyder says that he plans to hold more border clean-ups just like Sunday's, along with local park clean-ups, in the near future.