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Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz braved the cold this week for the last trash trap cleanout of 2025 on Greens Mill Run in Greenville.

Installed in March of 2024, the passive litter-collection device has captured nearly 500 pounds of trash floating down this Tar River tributary this year. Another 17 pounds was added to that total on Wednesday.

According to Emily, the haul mostly consisted of plastic water bottles and Styrofoam, with a few surprising items thrown in.

“I found some Halloween decorations floating around,” Emily laughed. “Whenever you cleanup a trash trap, you can always tell what holiday happened a month or so ago.”

Emily wrapped up the trash-trap cleanout hunting for sharks’ teeth. Greens Mill Run is known for its cache of the fossils.

The Greenville trash trap is part of Sound Rivers’ Litter-Free Rivers program launched in early 2023, just a year after the first trash trap was installed on Jack’s Creek in Washington. Since, traps have been installed on Duffyfield Canal in New Bern, Little Rock Creek in Raleigh, Adkin Branch in Kinston, in Greenville, East Tarboro Canal in Tarboro, a tributary of Jack’s Creek in Washington, Marsh Creek in Raleigh and Little Creek in Clayton. Two more were recently approved by local governments for Spring Branch in Smithfield and on Walnut Creek in Raleigh.

Through Litter-Free Rivers, Sound Rivers and an army of volunteers removed nearly 7 tons of trash from waterways and their banks since the program began. More than 2 tons have been removed in 2025.

Like Sound Rivers’ Litter-Free Rivers program? Donate today to keep your waterways Litter-Free!

Interested in helping with a trash trap cleanout? We’d love your help! See when the next ones are scheduled here!

Your group (civic, friend, family, school, church, scout, etc.) can volunteer to Adopt A Trash Trap for a month of monitoring and cleanouts. Visit our Adopt A Trash Trap page to find out how.