New Hanover Big Sweep is Saturday; volunteers sought

PortCityDaily.com is your source for free news and information in the Wilmington area.

Keep New Hanover County Beautiful (KNHCB) is looking for volunteers to assist in the annual Big Sweep cleanup of area beaches and waterways scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29.

This year, 13 sites throughout the county are eyed for the pickup, according to KNHCB. It added that since the Sweep’s inception in 1987, 300,000 volunteers have lifted more than 10 million tons of litter from rivers, creeks, sounds and beaches statewide.

For New Hanover County’s event, coordinators want to clean up more than 40 miles of waterways.

“So far we do have quite a few groups signed up to help out,” KNHCB Coordinator Jennifer O’Keefe said. “But we’re definitely looking for more.”

She added that her group has tied in a contest for the most unusual items found during the sweep.

According to N.C. Big Sweep, last year’s event in New Hanover County bagged more than 2,000 pounds of waste. Special finds included a wedding band, a glider aircraft propeller, a rat trap with poison, and a whole box of Mike’s Hard Lemonade. The year prior, volunteers found four vacuum cleaners and a full prescription bottle.

Prospective volunteers for Saturday’s sweep may register online at http://www.keepnhcbeautiful.org and will be assigned a certain cleanup-site based on their registration info.

On Saturday, volunteers should arrive ready for the outdoors: wear appropriate clothing, closed-toe shoes, gloves, and a hat or visor. Coordinators also suggest sunscreen and insect repellent.

Details are available through the website or a phone call to O’Keefe at (910) 798-7564.

More information is at http://www.ncbigsweep.org/.

Posted by Ben Brown on September 27, 2012. Filed under Latest News,Local News,New Hanover County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry