Sustainable Sandhills and local governments are looking for volunteers to help with spring cleanup events scheduled for April 23.
These volunteers will fan out across the city and county collecting litter from along roads and parks. Organizers said they also hope the campaign will raise awareness about littering. Cleanup campaigns will take place in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, Hope Mills and Spring Lake.
The Fayetteville Beautiful campaign is organized by the city and Sustainable Sandhills. Cumberland Clean is organized by Cumberland County Solid Waste. Both events happen twice a year.
More than 500 volunteers participated in the most recent fall event.
“We’re just hoping that it grows every year,’’ Anna Chott, the sustainability program coordinator with Sustainable Sandhills, said of the volunteers.
During the fall campaign, volunteers cleaned up 100 miles of streets and collected more than five tons of litter, the county said in a release.
Litter is not only an environmental issue, Chott said, but also an economic issue. The city and county have had to spend staff time picking up litter, she said.
The cleanup campaigns raise awareness, Chott said, and might make people think twice before throwing trash out a car window.
Registration is open for those who would like to participate in the events.
To register for Fayetteville Beautiful, to go fayettevillebeautiful.com. Scroll down to the active map, select a cleanup location and click “Register.” Group representatives should include the number of volunteers on the form.
To register for Cumberland Clean, email Tim Middleton at tmiddleton@co.cumberland.nc.us or call 910-321-6907. Participants will need to specify how many people are in the group and whether any youth will participate.
For each event, participants will receive trash bags, an event T-shirt and water. Cumberland Clean volunteers will also receive gloves, a reusable litter bag and hand sanitizer, the release said.
Volunteers for Fayetteville Beautiful can pick up their supplies on April 22 from 9 to 11 a.m. on Hillsboro Street, next to the Airborne & Special Operations Museum.
Volunteers who register for Cumberland Clean can pick up their items at the Ann Street Landfill through April 17 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On April 23, volunteers with Cumberland Clean may go directly to their cleanup location if they already have their supplies. Organizers will be in the front parking lot of the Cumberland County Courthouse from 8 to 9:30 a.m. for those who need to confirm their cleanup locations. The cleanup is scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon.
Litter that is collected will be picked up from the various sites by crews with solid waste.
Organizers for Fayetteville Beautiful will be on Hillsboro Street to distribute supplies to volunteers from 9 to 11 a.m. The citywide cleanup will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Crews with the Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation and city pubic services will collect the litter bags.
The Spring Lake Spring Clean Up is scheduled for 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Volunteers should meet at the Spring Lake Recreation Center, 245 Ruth St., to kick off the event. For more information or to register, email stormwater@townofspringlake.com.
The Hope Mills Spring Litter Sweep will take place from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. in and around the Hope Mills area. Volunteers should meet at the Hope Mills Recreation Center, 5770 Rockfish Road, prior to the event. To register, go to townofhopemills.com/472/Clean-Up-Events and create a free account. For more information, email Shawnelle Jones at sjones@townofhopemills.com or call 910-426-4060.
