Conservation Corner: April campaign to tackle litter in Spartanburg, Upstate
Spring is in the air, and so is the desire to do a little cleaning! That’s exactly what Keep South Carolina Beautiful (KSCB) affiliates in the Upstate have in mind with their friendly litter competition, “Team Up to Clean-up."
The competition will be held April 1-23. There are seven Upstate counties participating in the three-week litter competition with the hope that this becomes an annual rallying event. The county whose volunteers pick up the most litter by weight will win the 2023 title, but with a cleaner Upstate, we all will win. For a complete list of all the counties and their events visit: https://linktr.ee/UpstateTeamUpCleanUp.
Here in Spartanburg County, Keep OneSpartanburg Beautiful (KOSB) will partner with local governments and businesses to host clean-ups on each Saturday during the competition. We also encourage individuals to organize clean-ups in their neighborhoods or anywhere in the county that needs some extra attention.
KOSB has free supplies for clean-ups; we only ask that recipients report back to us specifics of their clean-up, such as location, duration, and quantity of litter collected. We also can help dispose of the bagged litter with help from the Spartanburg County Environmental Enforcement’s litter crew or provide waivers for the Spartanburg County Landfill in Wellford. We love celebrating the great work residents are doing in Spartanburg County, so we encourage groups to share pictures from their efforts online.
The success of these clean-ups comes from community support. Luckily, litter is something we can all agree is not good. It has negative impacts on our health, environment, economy and even is linked to higher rates of crime. Litter prevention happens through two main strategies: clean-ups and education. We know litter begets litter, so cleaning up litter is a crucial part of stopping future litter from accumulating. We also know that we need to raise awareness and change people’s behavior when it comes to litter. It may seem insignificant to litter on a personal level, but that mindset perpetuates pollution.
In the Upstate, we are at the top of South Carolina’s watershed. The quality of our water affects our neighbors downstream. Our waterways are part of the larger Santee River Basin that eventually discharges into the Atlantic Ocean. What we do in our county has larger impact, and cleaning up litter has a big effect on the rest of the state. It’s estimated that as much as 80 percent of the litter found in our waterways originates from our roadways. Cleaning up the litter from our roads improves the quality of the water that we drink, play in and need for a resilient and healthy future.
Come out during the first three weeks in April and help us clean up Spartanburg County. It’s a great time of year to get out and clean up our communities; litter is easiest to spot right now before the dense vegetation is back and regular mowing needs to begin. Plus, it’s not too hot!
Upstate Team Up to Clean-Up also coincides with the Spartanburg County resolution to celebrate Keep OneSpartanburg Beautiful Week, April 19-26. During this week, the Spartanburg County Council encourages all citizens in Spartanburg County to join in community efforts to clean up litter, recycle and partake in beautification efforts. (Our Storm Drain Art project also aims to beautify while raising awareness, visit our website to see the Call for Artists!)
We will be wrapping up this litter competition on Earth Day weekend. What better way to show our love to the planet than to clean up the Upstate!
Visit our website at keepspartanburgbeautiful.org or find us on social media for events near you. If you aren’t a group person or can’t attend one of our community clean-ups, we eagerly support individual or smaller clean-ups. Remember to report the weight you collect on our website; we want everyone’s effort to get counted. The more people we can involve the cleaner our county will be, which is good for everyone. Let’s Team Up to Clean Up.
Claire Roussos is coordinator of Keep One Spartanburg Beautiful.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Conservation Corner: You can help to pick up litter in Spartanburg
