Mountains of Trash Vanish Overnight After Pasadena’s New Year Celebrations

While the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game dazzled spectators with a sea of vibrant blooms, they left behind a less fragrant souvenir: mountains of trash and discarded furniture.

The estimated 68 tons of refuse typically left behind from Rose Parade and Rose Bowl festivities were set to disappear from Colorado Boulevard by dawn Thursday after a massive cleanup operation by Pasadena’s Public Works Department.

“Both the parade and game will generate around 34 tons of trash each. Both will also each generate about 5 tons of cardboard that we will recycle,” Thanos Gauthier of Pasadena Public Works told Pasadena Now.

The cleanup operation unfolds in two distinct stages, Gauthier explained.

First, a 15-person team deploys immediately after the parade with front loaders, rear loaders, and stake bed trucks to remove large debris.

The main operation was to begin at 10 p.m. Wednesday, when 100 workers take to the streets.

“Colorado Blvd. will be back to its pre-parade condition by 6 a.m. on January 2nd,” Gauthier said, noting that six mechanical sweepers provide the final touch.

Beyond trash collection, the Department’s work continues through mid-January. Crews inspect and clean sewers, install catch basin inlet covers, and patch potholes along the parade route. Workers must also reinstall bus benches, news racks, street light poles and traffic signal mast arms.