Cleaning up litter 'feels really good,' says local student
Jun. 30—Dalton Public Schools students collected more than 450 pounds of litter around town in April to celebrate Earth Day, a campaign led by anti-litter crusader Emery Silvers.
"It was awesome, how much work they did to pick up trash," said Silvers, who founded Keep it Clean Dalton, an initiative that encourages local youth to adopt a mile or particular location in Dalton that they clean four times a year. "Our goal is to get every mile in Dalton adopted to get them all clean."
A third-grade visit to a landfill sparked Silvers' passion for recycling, as she "saw how bad it is for the Earth," she said. "Everyone in my (Brookwood School) class started going crazy about it, and I had the idea to start recycling."
With the help of Dennis Mock, Silvers and the then-mayor launched Keep it Clean Dalton. With the help of Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, Brookwood School maintains a stock of equipment needed to clean up trash, so any students and families can participate.
"You find a lot of (refuse) right in the middle of the road, (especially) lots of cigarettes," some of which have been litter so long "they've basically disintegrated and are hard to pick up," said Silvers, who completed fifth grade at Brookwood School in May and will start sixth grade at Hammond Creek Middle School this August. "We could make a giant wall with all of them."
Additionally, "we've found a boot, a swim cap, underwear, gloves and full diapers" over the years, she said. "Most often, it's beer bottles — so many of those."
In April, Silvers, her mother, Misty, and a few others focused their attention on the parking lot of the Walnut Avenue Kroger, and the area on and around Tibbs Road, she said.
"There was so much trash, (including) a huge diaper box."
They also spotted a rolled-up carpet that seemed as if it was "almost trying to become part of nature," Misty Silvers said. "It makes me mad — who does that?"
Emery acknowledged it can be disheartening when she sees all the litter that remains even after she's worked for hours and persuaded others to do likewise.
"It is kind of sad when you go down the interstate and there's a ton of (litter), or it looks" like you haven't even made a dent in litter accumulation only a "week after you cleaned up," she said. "It's a lot to handle, but it's also encouraging" when so many drivers, joggers and walkers thank her for her efforts.
"People recognize us and it's like 'Yeah, I did something good today,'" she said. "It feels really good."
It is "really cool to have community backing," Misty Silvers said. "Just start by picking up one piece."
Keep it Clean Dalton doesn't just focus on picking up litter, however, the organization also informs others where they can properly dispose of trash, including cards that show where to drop off refuse, which "has helped a lot," said Meleia Bridenstine, Brookwood School's principal. "That's the other piece, not just picking up trash, but hopefully eliminating that (task) if people pick up after themselves and take" garbage where it ought to go.
"We're on the I-75 corridor, and we want our city to look nice," Bridenstine added. "If it's filthy, who would want to stay, live or open a business here?"
