Mokena Clean-Up Day Teaches Kids About Litter: PHOTO GALLERY AND VIDEO

Emily Pickrum, 5, of Mokena, was shy about her haul until her mother got her started.

"A big ol' piece of plastic ..." Mary Ann D'Antonio said, trailing off to let her daughter finish.

"And a cup," Pickrum said, starting to smile. "And a bag!"

D'Antonio and Pickrum were two of the approximately 30 volunteers who met at Saturday morning to pick up trash along Mokena roads for the yearly Clean-Up Day. The 20-year-old event was rescheduled twice this year due to weather, but the volunteers took to the streets Saturday to clean up town.

Although roadside litter is the target, not as much comes from litterbugs as one would think, Mokena Mayor Joe Werner said.

"More of what we find tends to come from garbage cans or garbage containers that aren't properly lidded," Werner said.

The sheer amount teaches the volunteers, mostly children and their parents, a good lesson, he said.

"When you can walk down from here to there," Werner said, gesturing about half a block away. "And pick up a full bag of garbage, you say, 'Holy cow!'"

Village Administrator John Downs said the day often inspires people to clean up their own areas, regardless of whether they're part of the official village clean up.

"Sometimes people do their own subdivisions," he said.

Reece Wirtz, 10, said he was enjoying the day as he and his father Bob, 42, walked, chatted and picked up trash.

"It's pretty nice, fun," Reece Wirtz said.

The pair got involved as part of Reece's scouting.

"We want to keep Mokena clean. Right, bud?" Bob Wirtz asked his son.