News

Sound Rivers Executive Director Heather Deck pulls a Christmas ornament out of the Kinston trash trap.

Trash-trap cleanouts are back to their regular schedule, assuring that the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico rivers are more Litter-Free Rivers.

At Walnut Creek Wetland Center’s annual Mud Day event — a hands-on celebration of nature — Sound Rivers’ partner The Great Raleigh Cleanup led a cleanout of the Little Rock Creek trash trap on Aug. 17, collecting a total of 80 pounds of trash. Sound Rivers gives a big shout out to The Great Raleigh Cleanup founder Preston Ross III and all of the volunteers who helped rid your rivers of garbage.

Volunteers with The Great Raleigh Cleanup cleaned out the trash trap on Little Rock Creek at the Walnut Creek Wetland Center’s annual Mud Day celebration.
This is what 80 pounds of trash removed from the Raleigh trash trap looks like.

This week, Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz and Sound Rivers Executive Director tackled the Kinston trash trap on their own. The delay in cleaning out the full trash trap on Adkin Branch was caused by the controlled release of water from the Raleigh reservoir into the Neuse, a continuation of high water levels from the massive amount of rain delivered by Tropical Storm Debby in the second week of August.

Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz with a piece of trash plucked from the banks of Adkin Branch. A full trash trap awaits in the background.

Emily and Heather freed another 38 pounds of trash from the trap, which included the interesting finds of a Christmas ornament (in August) and a rubber ducky.

Sound Rivers will be giving a home to this trash trap find.

Part of Sound Rivers’ Litter-Free Rivers programs, these passive litter-collection devices are located on Jack’s Creek in Washington, Duffyfield Canal in New Bern, Greens Mill Run in Greenville, Adkin Branch in Kinston and Little Rock Creek in Raleigh. A sixth trash trap was recently approved by the Town of Tarboro, to be installed on East Tarboro Canal in the fall. Sound Rivers, in partnership with The Great Raleigh Cleanup and the City of Raleigh, is working toward the installation of three additional trash traps in the Marsh Creek watershed in Raleigh, and scouting for a potential trash trap location has started in Smithfield.

Would you like to volunteer to help make your rivers Litter-Free? We’d LOVE your help! Volunteer here!

Eighty pound of trash later, Executive Director Heather Deck celebrates a clean trash trap.

Related News

Washington gets trash trap No. 10 December 5th 2024
Southern Nash gets rain garden, cistern installs December 5th 2024
Riverkeeper follows up on red-flagged Swim Guide site December 5th 2024
Riverkeeper, intern tackle Lick Creek sampling November 27th 2024
Washington to get Trash Trap No. 10 November 27th 2024
Durham community turns out for development ordinance update November 21st 2024