September 15, 2009

“Catawba County has a long history of beautification programs and efforts to remove trash from roadways,” said Kelly Groves, Extension Agent for the Environment and Natural Resources with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension-Catawba Center. “Litter Sweep is just one part of this effort. You may get involved by organizing a team to pick up litter in your community, choosing an area to clean up (your neighborhood street, road, park, lake, or stream), and registering your team with the Litter Sweep Coordinator. Then you simply pick up the orange trash bags, blue recycling bags, safety vests, and gloves and clean up the area you’ve chosen!”

Anyone interested in organizing a Litter Sweep Team should contact Henry Helton, Litter Sweep Coordinator, at (828) 459-9016 to register the team.

The special orange and blue bags will be available at the Catawba County Utilities and Engineering Office on the second floor of the Government Center in Newton; at the Cooperative Extension Office off Highway 321 Business in South Newton; at the North Carolina Department of Transportation's County Maintenance Office at 1302 Prison Camp Road between Newton and Maiden; and at Garbage Disposal Service's office at 4062 Section House Road in Hickory.

The Catawba County Department of Utilities and Engineering will waive fees normally charged to those bringing trash bags to the County’s five convenience centers during Litter Sweep. Anyone who brings trash collected in special orange bags, or recyclable materials collected in special blue bags, will be able to dispose of the trash free of charge.

Citizens may also call the North Carolina Department of Transportation's county maintenance office at 828-466-5519 to arrange for someone to come and pick up orange bags only.

Citizens will be responsible for properly disposing of the recyclable materials in blue bags.

The County’s five Convenience Centers are located at the Blackburn Landfill entrance, on Rocky Ford Road off Highway 10 west of Newton; on Lookout Dam Road in the Oxford Community; on Sherrills Ford Road; on Bethany Church Road east of Newton; and in the Cooksville community on Rhoney Farm Road. The Blackburn Center is open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The Cooksville Center is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. The Bethany Church Road Center is open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The Oxford and Sherrills Ford Centers operate from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.

“We urge Catawba County citizens to come by, pick up orange and blue bags, and help us sweep Catawba County and North Carolina clean of roadside litter!” Groves said.

For more information on Catawba County’s Litter Sweep, or the special orange and blue bags you may use to dispose of trash free of charge, you may visit www.ncdot.org/~littersweep, or call the Litter Sweep Hotline at 1-800-331-5864 or Catawba County Cooperative Extension at 828-465-8240