Big Sweep Hopes For a Transforming Experience

Stormwater SMART, Davidson Water Inc., and NC Big Sweep want you to join in North Carolina’s transformation on Saturday, Oct. 6 from 9-12 along the Yadkin River, where Hwy 64 and the Yadkin cross. If anyone has canoes or boats and would like to float down the river while picking up the litter, please feel free to bring them with you. Supplies such as gloves and trash bags will be provided. Tarheel Q BBQ will provide discounts to those participating in the clean up efforts.

“Volunteers have the power to change our environment,” said Judy Bolin, N.C. Big Sweep president. “Bring your friends and family, and in just a few hours, we can make a really big difference.”

These cleanups are important, because litter can last hundreds of years in our environment. Before it decomposes, litter can hurt our economy, when businesses refuse to locate to an area if it is too trashy. Tourists won’t linger in trashy areas, they won’t spend money, and they won’t return with their friends. Litter is a human health hazard, when it contaminates our water supply as it decomposes. It’s also deadly to wildlife that eat or become entangled in litter, and once entangled, wildlife often attract other wildlife to the same hazard.

Last year, over 14,000 Big Sweep volunteers cleaned almost 2,500 miles and retrieved more than 540,000 pounds of debris in North Carolina. Since its inception in 1987, Big Sweep volunteers have retrieved more than eight million pounds of debris.

“Everyone knows that there is still a lot of litter in our environment,” Bolin said. “Let’s all get out there and really transform North Carolina back to the pristine state it used to be!”

The annual statewide Big Sweep could be a transforming experience not only for the state but also for everyone involved, because North Carolina will be transformed into a cleaner state, and volunteers might be transformed into educators for a litter-free environment. Bolin said that peer pressure is one of the best ways to teach others not to litter.

The Big Sweep fall cleanup is part of the International Coastal Cleanup, a global effort to rid our environment of debris. Approximately 70 countries all around the world participate in the ICC. All 100 counties in North Carolina participate in the Big Sweep component of the ICC.

N.C. Big Sweep, an award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is a litter-free environment, was founded in 1987 as Beach Sweep, a coastal cleanup with 1,000 volunteers. That cleanup expanded inland and was renamed in 1989 to become North Carolina Big Sweep, the nation’s first statewide waterway cleanup. Its mission also expanded from litter-free waters to a litter-free environment about five years ago. During its 20-year history, more than 230,000 volunteers have retrieved over eight million pounds of debris from North Carolina’s environment. N.C. Big Sweep’s board of directors is comprised of individuals who represent several North Carolina’s businesses, other nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies.

For More Information Regarding the Big Sweep

Pictures From October 6, 2007 Click on a picture to enlarge it.