Beautify a Neighborhood (BAN)

Program Objective:  

To establish a public/private partnership aimed at fostering neighborhood beautification through dedication of public resources to neighborhood groups willing to assist the City in this process.

The “Beautify A Neighborhood” (BAN) litter program is based upon the premise that the City of Canton has a degree of responsibility to alleviate trash and litter problems within its borders. Acknowledging that the City cannot alleviate trash and litter problems on its own, the City seeks to promote partnerships with residents and neighborhood groups to solve the problem together.

The BAN program offers neighborhood groups the opportunity to partner with the City to clean up streets one neighborhood at a time. By doing this work as a partnership, all involved learn the benefit of working together to achieve the shared goal of beautifying our neighborhoods.

DATES STILL AVAILABLE FOR 2023:  August 12, September 23, and October 7.

How it Works:  

The City will set aside various Saturdays from April to October each year for neighborhood cleanups. Any individual or organization within the City of Canton can apply to participate. Applying does not guarantee approval. The City will do their best to accommodate all applicants.   Applicants will be notified of the approval or denial of their application.  

No tires or household hazardous waste can be placed at the curb or dumpster locations. All tires and household hazardous waste must be taken to the City of Canton Recycling Center, located at 742 Schroyer Ave SW, Canton, OH 44707. The Recycling Center is open by appointment only.   Appointment scheduling is available at www.timetorecycle.org/hhw-appointments/ or call 1-330-874-2258 Option 1.   Below is the process for all BAN activities.

  1. Canton City Public Health (CCPH) will drive the BAN area ahead of time and identify properties with public health nuisances.  Property owners must be given due process, therefore, orders will be issued as needed. 
  2. The Building Code Department will drive the BAN area ahead of time and identify vacant/abandoned lots in need of mowing. Property owners must be given due process, therefore, the Building Code Department will send a letter to the owners to satisfy the legal requirements set by City Council. If property owners fail to mow, the vacant lot / abandoned property will be bid out to mowing contractors. Occupied properties will not be mowed by mowing contractors. High grass at occupied properties will be handled the same as other property maintenance code infractions (i.e. due process via orders and prosecutor’s office).
  3. The Street Department will drive the BAN area ahead of the date to identify any hazardous tree trimming to be done in the road right-of-ways. They will contact the current tree contractor to trim those trees. As weather permits, the Street Department will sweep streets, fill pot holes and clean catch basin tops in the BAN area during the week following the BAN date.
  4. The Sanitation Department will contact the event organizer the week prior to the event to determine locations for the dumpster. Dumpsters will be placed at the identified locations on Friday. On Saturday, residents are to place small waste in the 4-yard front load dumpster and set furniture or other large items next to the dumpster. Sanitation will remove the dumpster and piles of large items at 6pm on Saturday.  No waste is to be placed at dumpster after 5pm on Saturday. Waste not placed at the dumpster, can be placed at the curb no earlier than noon the day before the normal trash day following the BAN weekend. Sanitation will only pickup materials that are properly bagged, wrapped and bundled…same rules that apply for normal trash pickup. Sanitation rules are available at https://www.cantonohio.gov/184/Garbage-Rules.

Submit an Application:

To save a date for your neighborhood's BAN day, please complete the BAN Application, which can be found here.

Please Note: The BAN program is designed to be a PARTNERSHIP between the City and its neighborhood organizations. By definition, this requires a degree of participation by the individuals living in the neighborhoods and the organization requesting a BAN date.  Any scheduled BAN event WITHOUT participants from the neighborhood attending and participating in the clean-up will result in the event being cancelled.

If you have questions, contact Wendy Heslink at 330-438-4309 or wendy.heslink@cantonohio.gov.