News Flash

Volunteers Encouraged to Clean Up Sites Around Durham

If you want a cleaner community, grab a friend and head out to a neighborhood, park, or creek to clean up litter as part of Durham’s Annual Big Sweep next month. 

Online registration for this year’s October 1 event is now open at www.durhambigsweep.org for the annual fall cleanup that brings together volunteers to remove litter. Additional cleanup dates are available. 

Keep Durham Beautiful, along with City and County departments, organize and support the cleanups. Big Sweep coordinators provide bags, gloves, litter grabbers, and vests for volunteers. The City’s Neighborhood Improvement Services Department and Durham County General Services Department ensure that all collected litter is properly recycled or sent to the landfill. 

Over 6,300 volunteers have collected 195,000 pounds of litter from trails, parks, roadsides, and waterways since 2005. “Big Sweep shows the power of the Durham community,” said Keep Durham Beautiful Executive Director Tania Dautlick. “We can all do our part to transform litter hot spots into green spots, first through prevention, then through cleanups.”   

About the Durham County Soil & Water Conservation District

The Durham County Soil & Water Conservation District seeks to conserve, enhance and promote the natural resources of Durham County by providing technical assistance, environmental education information and economic incentives to County citizens and by exhibiting a diversified program to meet its changing needs. For more information, visit the website and follow on Facebook,  Twitter, and Instagram. 

About Keep Durham Beautiful 

Keep Durham Beautiful is a nonprofit, volunteer organization working in partnership with the City of Durham General Services Department and Durham County to encourage residents, businesses, and community organizations to protect the environment and enhance the appearance of Durham through cleanup events, beautification projects, waste reduction, and educational activities. To learn more follow on Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, and Twitter.

About the Public Works Department Stormwater and GIS Services Division

The Stormwater Division with the City of Durham Public Works Department is guided by the City’s Strategic Plan goals of sustainable natural, and built envronment and innovative and high-performing organization. Activities include storm drainage design and plans review; inspecting and maintaining City-owned drainage systems; enforcing stormwater ordinances and regulations; education and outreach; stream monitoring, restoration, and watershed master planning. To learn more follow on Facebook and Twitter.