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Sound Rivers staff waded into Adkin Branch to wish the Kinston trash trap a happy birthday, and remove more than 50 pounds of garbage it had collected.

Last Thursday, Sound Rivers Executive Director Heather Deck, Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop, Water Quality Specialist Taylor Register, Program Director Clay Barber and Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz paid a visit to the trash trap — the fourth of Sound Rivers’ trash traps installed on urban tributaries of the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico rivers.

“It was a good excuse to have cupcakes and celebrate, and really nice to have all the staff out there,” Emily said. “We had cupcakes and party hats, removed a bunch of trash and also did a little bit of maintenance — Sam got in the water with a shovel to dig out a bunch of plants growing in the trash trap.”

Since launching the Litter-Free Rivers program, Sound Rivers has installed a fleet of 11 passive litter-collection devices on urban waterways throughout the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico watersheds. The Litter-Free Rivers program started with a Jack’s Creek, Washington, installation in May of 2022. Since, nine more trash traps have been added: on Duffyfield Canal in New Bern, Little Rock Creek in Raleigh, Adkin Branch in Kinston, Greens Mill Run in Greenville, East Tarboro Canal in Tarboro, three more were recently added on Marsh Creek in Raleigh (in partnership with the City of Raleigh, The Great Raleigh Cleanup and N.C. State University), a second Washington trash trap on a small tributary of Jack’s Creek and on Little Creek in Clayton.

An army of volunteers has removed more than 5 tons of trash from Litter-Free Rivers’ trash traps before it could enter the Neuse or Tar-Pamlico rivers — a step in the right direction to make our rivers litter-free.

Emily said she’s always looking for more volunteers to help keep your waterways litter-free.

“I would love to have the Kinston trash trap adopted more often — it’s just one cleanout a month and they get some Sound Rivers’ merchandise,” Emily said. “It’s a great opportunity for one-off cleanouts and have people metaphorically and literally dip their toes in the water for a trash trap cleanout, and it’s usually only an hour-long commitment.”

If you or your group would be interested in working for water quality by volunteering to clean out a trash trap or Adopt a Trash Trap for a month, check out the following:

More information about the Adopt A Trash Trap program.

Find out when and where the next trash trap cleanouts are scheduled — we’d love to have your help! Visit our volunteer sign-up page here or email Emily at emily@soundrivers.org.

Like Sound Rivers’ ever-expanding Litter-Free Rivers program? We definitely do! Donate today to help Litter-Free Rivers grow!