Following a month-long contest to raise awareness of the importance of street sweeping to neighborhood quality of life, the City of San Diego and City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn today revealed the official new name of the City’s 100% electric mini street sweeper – SWEEP-E – as it cleared trash and debris from the bicycle lanes along J Street in Downtown.
SWEEP-E has been given an ocean-themed makeover to highlight how street sweeping helps prevent ocean pollution, improve water quality and protect marine wildlife. The electric mini sweeper – the only one of its kind in the City fleet – has zero emissions and its electric motor results in a significant noise reduction compared to a regular street sweeper.
“Street sweeping is an essential service when it comes to keeping trash and debris out of the ocean and SWEEP-E will be a real-world embodiment of that message as it travels our city making our neighborhoods clean and safe,” Whitburn said. “SWEEP-E is also part of our growing fleet of electric vehicles that help us make progress toward our long-term goals for climate action, sustainability, and mobility.”
The City’s Stormwater Department launched the naming contest last month as part of its Piensa en Blue San Diego public education and outreach initiative. The contest began by soliciting name ideas via email and social media, and San Diegans responded with over 300 unique suggestions. Those were whittled down to three finalists and San Diegans were asked to vote online at thinkblue.org for their favorite.
Over 1,000 votes were cast and here are the results with SWEEP-E winning by 11 votes:
- SWEEP-E: 43.3%
- T.E.S.S. (The Electric Street Sweeper): 42.2%
- The Blue Broomba: 14.4%
SWEEP-E will be busy this week cleaning up Balboa Park ahead of this weekend’s December Nights holiday festival. Throughout the two-day event, SWEEP-E will be located next to the Think Blue booth in the Plaza de Panama. Attendees will be able to climb inside and take pictures with SWEEP-E.
“We’re thrilled to welcome SWEEP-E to the Think Blue family and look forward to seeing the sweeper in action this week tidying up Balboa Park before hundreds of thousands of visitors arrive for December Nights,” said Bethany Bezak, the interim director of the Stormwater Department. “SWEEP-E will be working hard to keep our streets clean and our waterways healthy for years to come.”
Street sweeping provides two primary benefits: Keeping the streets clean of trash and debris and protecting water quality. It also contributes to the City’s mobility, sustainability and climate action goals.
Rainfall that enters storm drains is not treated, and that runoff collects pollutants from properties and streets and carries them into local waterways. Street sweeping helps remove both large and microscopic pollutants, such as brake dust from vehicles before they reach a storm drain. Those particles can be extremely harmful to humans and marine wildlife.
The City’s fleet of 20 sweepers routinely covers 2,700 miles of streets annually, removing 220,000 pounds of trash and debris. That’s equivalent to the weight of 23 million single-use, disposable cups.
Residents and visitors can help improve street sweeping efforts by parking in legal parking spaces, taking in trash cans immediately on trash collection days, and reporting illegal dumping and other problems promptly to the City’s Get It Done application. Visit the City’s interactive street sweeping map to find out more information about routes and schedules.
