Christmas has passed and it’s time to throw out all the old, used packages, boxes and bags. To help kick off a clean new year, the city of Selma will hold a citywide cleanup day Saturday.

Evans said his hope with the initiative is to impress the ideals of cleanliness upon Selma’s residents.

“Just [to raise] awareness of the fact that we need to keep a clean city. [We don’t need to be] throwing trash on the streets, but rather we need to throw it in the can,” Evans said, adding that a cleanup day is a great way to kick off the new year.

Trash collectors will start at 8 a.m. and will be picking up trash left on the side of the road.

“We’re going to pick up their Christmas trash,” said Evans. “The trucks will drive by and we just ask that everybody puts out their trash out on the street.”

Natalie Shelton from the code enforcement office said the cleanup day is just the beginning.

“A trash truck and a garbage truck is going to target certain areas [Saturday] and they’re going to pick up trash in those areas, and then next week we’re going to have some guys on foot from Public Works to actually go and gather trash, where the trash trucks cannot go, like in the back alleys and other hard to reach areas, and pull that trash out,” Shelton said. “We’re going to just do a clean sweep of different areas. I think they’re going to hit every street in the city of Selma [Saturday], and just try to collect all trash [they can].”

One group of volunteers will be pitching in to help with the cleanup day efforts. Derriet Moore, co-founder of Best of Student Shooters, B.O.S.S. League, said 15 youth from the program will be volunteering their time.

“Just put your trash on the side of the street, and we’ll pick it up tomorrow,” Evans said. “We’re just trying to raise the awareness of the need to work together to throw trash and liter in bags rather than on the ground.”