Find Out Here How to Volunteer for Wake County Big Sweep

9/26/2005

Think litter's ugly?  Wish someone would do something about it?  Here's your chance!  Put on your boots, roll up your sleeves and volunteer for Wake County Big Sweep--an all-volunteer cleanup of Wake County's waterways on Saturday, October 1, 2005.

Every year, hundreds of citizen volunteers collect over five tons of litter from Wake County's

Twenty-five designated sites along streams, lakes, rivers and wetlands.  Examples of active Big Sweep sites include:  Bass Lake in Holly Springs, Walnut Creek in southeast Raleigh, Crabtree Creek in downtown Raleigh, Falls Lake boat ramp, and Zebulon Little River Park. 

Many more volunteers are needed!  People of all ages are welcome, especially families, Scouts, church groups, environmental organizations and youth clubs wanting an environmental stewardship project that benefits the community.

To volunteer, choose a Big Sweep site and go there at 9 am on Big Sweep day.  You do not need to pre-register unless you have a large group.  To locate a Wake County Big Sweep site near you, visit http://www.wakegov.com/general/environment/keepamer/bigsweepcleanuplocations.htm            

Be sure to check the dates and times of Big Sweep at the site you choose.  If you have questions not answered by the website, call Wake County Big Sweep Coordinator Lois Nixon at (919) 856-6779.

Big Sweep is held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Volunteers report to the site at 9 am and are provided gloves, trash bags and data cards to record the types of trash collected.  This data is entered in a statewide database that documents the success of the 18-year program where over seven million pounds of debris from North Carolina's watersheds have been retrieved by more than 200,000 Big Sweep volunteers.  Both Wake County and North Carolina Big Sweeps are components of the International Coastal Cleanup, a global effort in 90 countries to rid our environment of debris. 

Why do these citizens give up their weekend to pick up trash?  "This cleanup is really important in North Carolina because litter hurts our local economy, especially tourism and new business recruitment," said Charles Miller, Power Squadron officer, State Big Sweep Board member, and Wake County Big Sweep volunteer.  "Litter also contaminates our water supply and endangers people and wildlife."  

NC Big Sweep is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works year-round to educate citizens for litter-free watersheds.  It was initiated in 1987 as a coastal cleanup called Beach Sweep.  The event expanded inland and was renamed in 1989 to become North Carolina Big Sweep, the nation's first statewide waterway cleanup. To find out more, go to their Web site at http://www.ncbigsweep.org/.

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