Americana Drive Cleanups
2026

Clean Americana Day - June 6, 2026

       

We had clear skies and temperatures in the mid 80's, but with an unexpectedly high level of humidity that made the weather seem hotter. As usual, the project was in cooperation with the Fairfax County Restoration Project, and hosted by The Vistas Apartments.

We enjoyed support from Team Rubicon, East Fairfax Chamber of Commerce and Annandale High School Green Atoms environmental club. Thank you Team Rubicon, East Fairfax CofC, and Green Atoms! We were also pleased to again be joined by Delegate Vivian Watts.

Our 33 volunteers, a smaller turnout than usual, still managed to collect 89 bags of trash, seven tires, miscellaneous items from mailboxes to mirrors, and roughly .75 tons of assorted construction debris. We did not find a toilet, though. The day is never complete on Americana Drive without finding a discarded toilet.

One amusing (and frustrating) moment during the cleanup was when a mattress ripped open while being moved, spilling its chicken 🐓 feather stuffing that then had to be picked up handful by handful.

Operation Stream Shield, a Fairfax County program to employ shelter residents, had conducted their own cleanup here within the past two weeks, contributing to the lighter-than-usual trash conditions today. Their haul was 56 bags of trash, plus the usual tires and construction debris. Collections of distinctively gray trash bags seen anywhere around the county mean Operation Stream Shield was at work.

Improper parking above the curb is an unfortunate practice along much of Americana Drive. With the street not being quite wide enough for two-way 30 mph traffic with parking on both sides, vehicle owners are understandably apprehensive about properly parked vehicles being struck. Still the practice has left large stretches of soil bare and churned into muddy puddles.


One-legged mud monkey, among the many oddities we have found on Americana Drive
See more cleanup photos

Presidents Day Cleanup - February 16, 2026

       

Heavy snow that froze hard and lingered for weeks precluded our Presidents Day cleanup this year. We had to cancel when faced with no parking for volunteers, no way to locate rubbish beneath the hard snow layer, and considerable hazard of volunteers and vehicles trying to move through the same constricted streets.

Thank you to everyone who signed up!


Impossible snow and ice conditions on Americana Drive. 😞


Read about our earlier cleanups
VDOT Northern Virginia Adopt-a-Highway Map