News

Heavy rains = lots of trash on Little Rock Creek

Environmental, Sound Rivers

Posted on February 16th, 2023

Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop takes in the trash haul from the Raleigh Trash Trout.

The Raleigh Trash Trout on Little Rock Creek got a fourth clean-out this week, and the recent storms did not disappoint in filling the litter trap up.

“There was lots of trash this time around, after the big rains — tons of plastic bottles and Styrofoam containers,” said Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop.

Finds of particular interest include three tennis balls and a child’s shoe, Sam said.

Preston Ross III and Tyler Owens, of The Great Raleigh Cleanup, came out for the clean-out with Sam and Sound Rivers’ intern William Wallace.

Here are the totals from the Feb. 13 cleanout:

Plastic film

61 plastic bags

27 food wrappers

3 plastic film fragments

Hard plastic

61 bottles

1 cup

11 straws

10 cigarette butts

11 fragments

23 labeled other

Preston Ross III and Sound Rivers intern William Wallace chat over some trash auditing.

Styrofoam

20 cups

11 takeout containers

20 pieces of packing material

125 fragments

Metal

1 drink can

2 other

2 fragments

Glass

3 bottles

1 fragment

Other Material

1 piece of fabric

5 pieces of sports equipment

8 other (lightbulb, needle, binkie, aluminum foil, wood)

Recent heavy rains carried plenty of trash into the waterways.

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