With more than 10 partnering businesses and organizations, and literally a ton of trash to pick up on local streets, The Great American Cleanup on Saturday drew about 160 volunteers who showed up prepared to get down and dirty.
Rounding out the Georgia Cities Week celebration, yesterday’s cleanup had crowds combing downtown Hinesville, gathering cigarette butts, bottles and other debris.
With a garbage grabber in hand and a full trash bag, Allenhurst resident Lynn Pace said being a part of the clean-up wasn’t something she had to think twice about.
“Why wouldn’t you?” she said. “I’ve always picked up litter.”
Keep Liberty Beautiful Director Sara Swida said the cleanup had another great turn out this year and she expected volunteers would gather the same amount of trash as last year.
“Last year, we picked up over a ton of trash,” she said. “We’re really happy with the level of involvement.”
Swida said this is KLB’s largest clean-up event of the year, but her group has been working hard all year to keep litter off the street.
“This is our 14th or 15th clean up this,” Swida said. “So far, we’ve picked up 5 or 6 tons of litter and we still have a few more planned.”
Litter-tackling groups spread out across Highway 84, down Memorial Drive and focused on creeks and rivers, areas Swida said get very heavy concentrations of trash, which eventually filter out to nearby bodies of water.
Swida said many other groups are picking up on the trend and organizing their own cleanups.
“Just about every city has done one now,” she said.