Fans of the Dead left a sea of trash in their wake

A parking lot near the Cobblestone District is getting a big cleanup today.

That it's happening on Earth Day is a coincidence, but one tinged with irony.

The Scott Street lot, near Michigan Avenue, was turned into a staging ground Tuesday for hundreds — perhaps thousands — of fans waiting to see a concert at HSBC Arena by The Dead, former members of the Grateful Dead minus the late Jerry Garcia.

But the crowd of young jam-band enthusiasts and aging hippies — thought to be particularly environmentally conscious — left behind a parking lot strewn with beer and wine bottles, cans, bags, pizza boxes and hundreds of balloons used to get high with nitrous oxide.

Noticeably absent were any trash cans that could have given people a place to throw things away.

Management of lot operator Pay to Park had no immediate comment.

msommer@buffnews.com