News

The Town of Tarboro became the newest host of a Sound Rivers’ Litter-Free Rivers trash trap last week.

It’s the sixth passive-litter collection device Sound Rivers has installed on urban waterways in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico watersheds. The first was installed in May of 2022 on Jack’s Creek in Washington; next came Duffyfield Canal in New Bern, then Little Rock Creek, on the grounds of the Walnut Creek Wetland Center in Raleigh, Adkin Branch in Kinston and Greens Mill Run in Greenville.

“I’m so excited for the Litter-Free Rivers program to be growing and especially to have it extend farther up the Tar-Pamlico,” said Sound Rivers Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz.

The Tarboro trash trap comes courtesy of a Sound Rivers partnership with Cummins Rocky Mount Engine Plant and the Town of Tarboro. Both partners participated in last week’s installation.

“We had about six Cummins employees and three folks from the city to help with an impromptu cleanup, as well as to put the trash trap in the water,” Emily said. “It’s great because this partnership with Cummins has given us the opportunity to get more people involved with Litter-Free Rivers.”

Miriam Espinosa, a Sound Rivers board member and the Environmental Compliance Manager for Cummins, was instrumental in orchestrating the partnership. Sound Rivers staff and Cummins employees have previously held several cleanups on, and along, the Tar River in Rocky Mount. With trash trap No. 6, volunteer opportunities for Cummins employees will include trash trap monitoring and cleanouts.

The Tarboro trash trap is located on East Tarboro Canal, near the Ray Recreation Center and the Tarboro Splashpad. More trash traps are in the works for Marsh Creek in Raleigh, and the municipalities of Clayton and Smithfield, both on the Neuse River, have expressed interest in Sound Rivers’ Litter-Free Rivers program.

Would your group be interested in Adopting a Trash Trap? It’s fun, and it helps keep your waterways litter-free! Learn more about the Adopt A Trash Trap program here.