A total of 317 volunteers – 206 volunteers in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and 111 in Hillsborough – collected 6.6 tons of litter and trash as part of the local NC Big Sweep. Volunteers worked more than 670 labor-hours, or the equivalent of one full-time employee working 16.8 weeks – approximately four months – to remove trash in and above local waterways. Recyclables were separated to reduce the trash going to the landfill.
Cub Scout Packs 820, 825 and 880 dragged tires, lost balls, cans, bottles, fast food wrappers and construction waste from Booker, Bolin and Little Creeks. Some members of Boy Scout Troop 9 canoed Morgan Creek under the supervision of Morgan Creek Valley Alliance’s Johnny Randall to collect water-borne litter, while others hiked the banks, bagging trash that might endanger wildlife or eventually wash into the creek. Students from Chapel Hill and Carrboro High Schools and Durham Academy cleared debris, construction waste, recyclables and trash above a tributary to Bolin Creek.
Northside neighbors and Carrboro’s Environmental Planner Randy Dodd trudged through thick brush and poison ivy to remove broken glass, tires, old appliances, car batteries, construction debris and assorted litter from a neglected portion of Bolin Creek that is scheduled for stream restoration later this year.
Environmental stewardship was at work. Young members of the Bahai faith community removed trash accumulated along parking lot edges; Church of Reconciliation members bagged trash below hilltop apartments, and Binkley Baptist Church youth and adults cleaned a portion of Booker Creek.
Phi Sigma Nu fraternity threw enthusiasm and muscle into a group led by Friends of Bolin Creek’s Bruce Sinclair to haul trash from behind an apartment complex above Bolin Creek, and extended their efforts to Estes Drive Extension where litter frequently accumulates.
On October 23rd, Wendell Rodgers of Carrboro’s Recreation and Parks Department led 25 youth in a cleanup along the railroad tracks behind Lloyd Street as part of Make a Difference Day. They collected an estimated 800 pounds of litter, mostly including fast food wrappers and containers, bottles and cans.
In Hillsborough, Erosion Control Officer and Stormwater Manager Terry Hackett led 84 volunteers to clear litter along the Eno River on October 2nd. Other groups worked October 23rd to clean roadways.
The most curious finds? Two deer skulls, a full-sized piano keyboard, shoes-and lots of them- and a decorated coconut.
Report by Wendy Smith, Town of Chapel Hill
Updated December 3, 2010
E-Mail: wwsmith@townofchapelhill.org