'So much damn garbage in the city': Duggan vows Detroit beautification by 2024 NFL Draft

Drive down any given freeway in Detroit and you’ll likely see it somewhere, from Styrofoam cups to food packaging to water bottles.

"It makes the city look bad - you got the trash, you drive around trash everywhere - that’s not a good look, it’s not a good look," said Detroit resident Torres Shepard.

And they’re not the only ones with a strong opinion about it. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan weighed in on the matter at last week’s Detroit Policy Conference. There is a new push to address the problem with the Department of Public Works.

"There is so much damn garbage in the city since Covid," he said.

And the clock is ticking when it comes to cleaning up all the litter.

"We are going to beautify the city," Duggan said. "I am obsessed every day."

In April 2024, all eyes will be on Detroit as the city host the NFL Draft.

The event is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of people to the area and generate an estimated $200 million in revenue.

Shepard says the cleanup can’t come soon enough

"I think it needs to be done like super-quick," he said. "Like immediately, because it’s kind of terrible. (When) you're riding on the streets, and you see it come up, it’s an eye sore."

MDOT was previously in charge of clean-up, but the city is now taking over the job.

"You’re going to see a beautician of the city over the next 15 months I think you’ll be really proud of," Duggan said. "So when the world comes here, they say 'I never thought this was Detroit.'"

Duggan said DPW crews will be out and about, but it is also up to everyone to not throw trash on the streets.