Volunteers are steadily signing up to participate in the fifth annual Henderson-Vance Spring Litter Sweep Week, April 15-20, as the week-long event focuses on bringing the community together to improve the appearance of local neighborhoods, business areas, streets and roadsides and more.
“We’re very encouraged with the response we’ve received so far from our community for plans to participate in next week’s Spring Litter Sweep Week, but we need more volunteers to make a real difference,” said Terri Hedrick, chairperson of the Vance County Appearance Commission which along with the Henderson Community Appearance Commission is sponsoring the clean-up efforts.
Throughout the week, participants from Adopt-A-Highway Program groups, local church groups, school groups, civic organizations, members of volunteer fire departments, community watch groups, businesses, families and individuals are being urged to clean up blighted areas in the city and the county.
The local effort this year is once again part of the North Carolina Spring Litter Sweep, which is scheduled for April 13-27.
“If we all work together we can really make a difference,” Hedrick added. “We’ve had hundreds of volunteers over the last several years to help with our Spring Litter Sweep efforts. You would be surprised at the difference a group of four or five people can make in just one hour of time in cleaning up litter along streets and roadsides. Getting involved in our litter sweep is all about community pride. All residents need to take an active role year round in keeping our city and county clean from littering, illegal dumping and unsightly debris left along streets, roadsides and around homes and businesses.”
Materials for volunteers to use in their clean-up efforts, including large, orange trash bags, recycling bags, gloves and orange, safety vests will be available beginning tomorrow, by contacting Hedrick at the Vance County Schools’ Administrative Services Center at 1724 Graham Avenue in Henderson or by calling 492-2127, extension 2100. The clean-up materials also will be available at the City Operations Center on Beckford Drive in Henderson.
The week-long effort will wrap up on Saturday, April 20.
Beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 20, volunteers also may pick up clean-up supplies in the parking lot of the City Operations Center on Beckford Drive, if they want to clean up during that morning. Residents who want to discard old electronics also can bring them to the City Operations Center that morning. Representatives from Metech Recycling will be on hand to accept the electronics for recycling from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on that Saturday.
“We’re thrilled to have the Metech representatives available on April 20 at the City Operations Center to collect old electronics like desk top computers and their accompanying equipment, old laptop computers, old televisions and old radios,” Hedrick said. “Electronics need to be recycled and not thrown in the trash. It actually is a violation of state law now to add computers and computer equipment to the waste stream. They need to be recycled just like we need to recycle plastic bottles and containers, aluminum cans, newspapers, cardboard and more.”
During the Spring Litter Sweep, residents in Henderson can place old appliances and household items on the street curb in front of their homes and city maintenance workers will pick them up for disposal. For next week and throughout the year residents from across Vance County can take household items, including bed mattresses and furniture, to any of the eight manned collection sites in the county for disposal free of charge. Old, unwanted motor vehicle tires can be taken year round during daily business hours to the Vance County Transfer Station on N.C. 39 just north of Henderson, for recycling. There is no charge to dispose of the tires at the Transfer Station. Any loads of tires or other unwanted items carried in the back of a truck or on a trailer that residents want to take to the Transfer Station must be covered by a tarp or other sturdy material. This is to prevent items from spilling out or blowing out along roadsides.
Volunteers who receive supplies for the Spring Litter Sweep Week also will be given tickets to attend a free hot dog lunch on Saturday, April 20, beginning at 11 a.m. at the City Operations Center. The lunch is being sponsored by the Wisdom for Life Ministry of Jason Brown, a Vance County native and former star in the National Football League with the Baltimore Ravens and St. Louis Rams. This will be the fifth year Brown has sponsored the volunteer lunch for the Spring Litter Sweep.
Anyone who is interested in participating in the Henderson-Vance Spring Litter Sweep Week activities is asked to contact Hedrick at 492-2127, extension 2100, or by email at thedrick@vcs.k12.nc.us.