News

A pair of environmentally-minded highschoolers joined Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz for a trash trap cleanout in Kinston.

Ava Silver, a senior from Goldsboro, and Mason Mastellar, a junior at Havelock’s Early College High School, relieved a full Adkin Branch trash trap of 85 pounds of trash last Saturday.

“Both of them had a bit of drive to get to Kinston, which made it even more special that they showed up,” Emily said. “We did remove 85 pounds of trash, but there was even more trash up and down the banks that we couldn’t do with just the three of us, so we definitely need so more volunteers for the upcoming cleanups.”

Emily said she first met Ava during a Water Watch training. Since, she’s attended more trainings, with friends in tow. Ava’s first stop on Saturday was to clean out the trash trap; her second was having her senior pictures taken.

“The fact that she was willing to get down and dirty and put on waders and get in the creek before her senior pictures was just amazing,” Emily said.

Mason heard about the trash trap and signed up on his own.

“He said he’s been looking to do more volunteer work and get more involved in the work we’re doing,” Emily said. “This was the first volunteering he’d done on his own.”

Emily said it’s been a bit of challenge to find volunteers for the Kinston trash trap, so she was grateful for Mason and Ava’s help.

“It’s definitely been harder to get volunteers to come out for the cleanouts in Kinston,” she said. “That’s why we’ve tried to hold them at different times on different days of the week, making the schedule more accommodating for people who work or have school.”

The Adkin Branch trash trap was the third trap installed as part of Sound Rivers’ Litter-Free Rivers program. There are currently 13 of these passive litter-collection devices on urban waterways across the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico: on Jack’s Creek in Washington, Greens Mill Run in Greenville, Duffyfield Canal in New Bern, Adkin Branch, East Tarboro Canal in Tarboro, Little Rock, Marsh and Walnut creeks in Raleigh, Little Creek in Clayton, and the most recently installed trap, on Spring Branch in Smithfield.

Since Litter-Free Rivers launch in May of 2023, Sound Rivers’ staff and an army of volunteers have removed more than 6 tons of trash from your waterways.

Like Sound Rivers’ Litter-Free Rivers program? Donate today for litter-free rivers!

Find out how to volunteer for a cleanout near you or Adopt a Trash Trap for a month on our Litter-Free Rivers page!