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Jack’s Creek in Washington now has a second trash trap working to remove litter from the creek before it gets to the river.

On Wednesday, staff and volunteers installed the passive litter-collection device on a small tributary of Jack’s Creek, making it trash trap No. 10 for Sound Rivers’ ever-expanding Litter-Free Rivers program.

“This was one of our quickest trash trap installations yet. It was very efficient,” said Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz. “I think that was because our staff and volunteers have done quite a few of them, and it was a cold day, so we were glad it went quickly.”

Joining Emily for the installation were Program Director Clay Barber, Stormwater Education Coordinator Sierra Stickney, Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman and volunteers Dawn Dolson, C. Michael, Christina Marshen and Emily’s fiancé, Tanner Lilly.

“We had a great team of volunteers, and we started off with a discussion about where to install the trash trap — where it would be most accessible and catch the most trash — so we put it near where the stream joins Jack’s Creek,” Katey said, adding that the newer, smaller model designed by Mid-Atlantic Fabrications is lighter, with an upward-swinging gate to facilitate trash removal and no bottom bar connecting the sides to prevent logs and other woody debris from catching and clogging up the trap.

“It’s highly visible from the back corner of the city’s dog park, so hopefully that will spark some curiosity about what it is and what it does,” Clay said.

While the trash-trap installation team was there, they also took the opportunity to do an impromptu cleanup of the creek and its banks.

“We filled up the pretty substantial cardboard box that the buoys came in, so I’d say we probably picked up about 10 pounds,” Emily said.

The Litter-Free Rivers program launched with the first Jack’s Creek installation in May of 2022, and nine more trash traps have since been installed on urban waterways: 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 — a partnership between the City of Raleigh, The Great Raleigh Cleanup and N.C. State University, and now a second trap is in Washington.

Emily said she’d love to hear from community members interested in keeping Jack’s Creek and the Pamlico River clean by volunteering to clean out the trash trap.

If you or your group would be interested in volunteering or adopting a trash trap for a month, check out the following:

More information about Sound Rivers’ Adopt A Trash Trap program.

Find out when and where the next trash trap cleanouts are scheduled — we’d love to have your help!

Like Sound Rivers’ ever-expanding Litter-Free Rivers program? We definitely do! Donate to support keeping your waterways litter-free!

The second Washington trash trap was made possible through a partnership with the City of Washington and funding by the Smith Family Foundation.