Volunteers Take On New Orleans' 'Greatest Enemy'

"[Volunteers] converge on New Orleans' neighborhoods to attack what many now consider its greatest enemy: trash. They are tackling the heaps of paper, cartons, blankets, tattered clothing, wood and rug remnants that litter the city's streets and median strips — referred to here as "neutral ground" — six months after Hurricane Katrina tore through...[The] trash force calls itself the Katrina Krewe and includes students, homemakers, retirees, teachers and other professionals...

Residents acknowledge that the city has always struggled with garbage collection. But the local government has faced a myriad of other post-storm challenges, and only Friday kicked off a city-sponsored volunteer cleanup. Garbage has become New Orleans' new emblem; in many neighborhoods, more rubbish than cars line curbs...the magnitude of the trash appears to dwarf the official cleanup effort...

The number of volunteers has soared from 15...to between 150 and 500, the Katrina Krewe founder said. The helpers hail from all over the city — and sometimes the country — and typically cover a 15- to 20-block radius during each cleanup."