Back in May, Ryan Bradley accepted a new role as Reading’s Clean City Coordinator. Bradley has been living in Reading since 1996, and is proud to call Reading his home. Bradley worked in the drug and alcohol field as a therapist, counselor, and case manager, before taking on this position. His love for Reading doesn’t go unnoticed. Before getting into this new role, Bradley started cleaning up his own city block before his neighbors started joining in.
“My job description is that I’m in charge of all the cleanups in the city. I have residents that come to me, I get emails and letters about residences that want to do cleanups in their neighborhoods.”
Residents have yearned for their city to be beautiful again, and with Bradley hired, this task is now attainable. Residents have reached out to him via email, letters, and the app, I Request, telling him about different areas that could use his help. One of the first things that he does is supply those residents and blocks with all the supplies that they need. Not only does he provide them, but he also participates in these cleanups.
The first significant initiative was Mayor Moran’s ‘Adopt-a-Block’ program. This program came strictly from the mayor, but it was given to Bradley to endorse and take charge. Right now, there are about 44 businesses that are on board. Block by block, Bradley hopes that this initiative helps keep these areas clean and encourages others in the Reading community to participate.
“Basically, we supply the residents with the supplies that they need. They clean up, take pictures, and I post the pictures on our social media websites. They put their bags out on the curb, and our guys go out and pick the bags up.”
Currently, Bradley is working on an illegal dumping campaign to address some of the illegal dumping happening in the city. Illegal dumping is when someone cleans out their house and they don’t take it to a proper place to dump. These items may include tires, TVs, furniture, construction debris, etc.
“We have a couple of sites that are a nuisance. We clean those areas about 3-4 times a week.”
Most importantly, there is an app for residents to use to inform the city of trash. The app is called ‘I Request’. This app is easy to use, all you have to do is request trash to be picked up. Although many people don’t know about this app, Bradley makes it a point to go around to different neighborhoods to educate them. Bradley gets the requests from his phone via the app. “Sometimes, we go into neighborhoods and pass out waste management brochures. We do this to educate the residents, and let them know that we will come to pick this stuff up.”
“If you have a clean environment, the community starts to become safe. Not only from violence but also from rodents. A clean environment encourages people to come outside and be a part of the community.”
So if you happen to see Bradley on the street, stop and ask how you can be apart of the solution to keeping Reading clean.