Any day is a good day to pick up litter, but residents participating in the Chamber of Commerce’s Operation Clean Sweep can qualify for “dump dollars” with bags of roadside refuse collected April 22-30.

To receive credit, register and take full bags to the Community Waste Solutions landfill at the end of FAA Road.

People not concerned about receiving an award can fill up yellow garbage bags and leave them around town at stop signs.

Bags are available at the Chamber office in Main Street’s Gateway Building.

Debra Schnabel, the chamber’s executive director, said she is always amazed when a person asks her when it’s time to start picking up litter.

“Right now,” Schnabel said. “Why does there need to be a certain day? If you see litter, pick it up. Why does it need organizing and incentivizing?”

Still, she said she’s grateful for efforts by the Haines Friends of Recycling, which was to kick off the cleanup effort at the Haines School Thursday. “HFR is incorporating education and public service and I applaud that, but we can’t expect a kid to wade into four feet of water to pick up a plastic bag.”

Unlike previous years, there will be no special day or picnic for the cleanup, as only a few people participated in that part of the effort in previous years.

Another change this year is an emphasis on cleaning up not only litter but also large debris, junk and construction materials, Schnabel said.

“One thing we’d like to do, we’re asking people to call the chamber about eyesores on public or private property,” Schnabel said. “We can’t promise we’ll do anything, but we’ll do our best to make the borough aware and see if, as volunteers, we can do anything.”

Resident Barb Blood has participated in the cleanup the past 26 years and is one of several residents formerly crowned the “Queen of Trash” for picking up the most volume. But due to recent back surgery, she’ll need some help from others.

“It’s killing me to see trash and know that I can’t help out,” Blood said this week. “I’ll probably pick up a little, but not bags and bags.”

The cleanup is one of the town’s oldest civic activities, with mention of a similar event sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in the Haines Pioneer Press more than 100 years ago.