News

Trash trap adopters in Raleigh and Clayton reported they removed more than 60 pounds of trash from urban tributaries during recent cleanouts.

In Clayton, dedicated trash trap adopter Larry Hattenburg, along with Ed Sanderford (who helped launch the Smithfield trash trap), pulled a lot of woody debris from the Little Creek trap on July 30, and cleared the banks of 7 pounds of trash.

“The drainage area for Little Creek got a few hard rain showers recently that appear to have overwhelmed the trash trap, evidence of a real ‘gully washer,’” Larry wrote in his report, adding that there were indications that water level reached more than four feet higher than the trash trap. “There was very little trash caught in the trap, however there was plenty of organic material. We were able to wade downstream pulling trash from the overhanging brush along the banks until we reached the beaver dam. The dam looked like it survived the flooding and had only a little trash caught in its branches.”

Two days later, trash trap adopters Carolina Wetlands Association and a team of 11 volunteers tackled the trash trap located on the grounds of the Walnut Creek wetlands center. The group removed 54 pounds of trash from the Little Rock Creek trap, and noted on their report they saw several tires lodged in the stream bank.

Many thanks to Larry, Ed and the CWA volunteers for helping us work toward our goal of Litter-Free Rivers!

If you’d like to know how you can volunteer, visit our Litter-Free Rivers page here!