County plans first Earth Day clean up event to address litter

ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County will hold its first Earth Day Community Clean Up to take on litter around the community.

The clean-up will be held from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 24. Earth Day is an annual event that is celebrated on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Bryan Leggett, Assistant Public Works Director, said that the clean-up was designated for the following Saturday so that they could maximize the amount of people who could participate.

The volunteer deadline for the Earth Day Community Clean Up is Friday, April 2nd. To register, call (910) 997-4497 or go online to www.richmondnc.com. To name your priority area, that deadline is Friday, April 16th. A rain date has been scheduled for May 1st.

To become a corporate sponsor, you can call Jacqueline Welch at (910) 997-4491.

Individuals, families and businesses are encouraged to participate. The county is asking that groups are limited to under 20 at each pickup site, which will be announced. Tools will be provided at each site.

It’s the first time that the event is being held, but Leggett would like to see it be an annual event.

“Hopefully, we’ll have it again moving forward,” Leggett said.

Leggett said that the county wants to get the public involved in keeping the community clean and bring awareness to the issue of litter. This clean-up isn’t a direct response to an increase concern over litter in Richmond County, which was raised during the Richmond County Board of Commissioners meeting this month — litter is always a topic of concern, according to Leggett.

“It’s not going to get any better until somebody takes that initiative,” Leggett said.

He said that litter is a “never-ending battle.” It’s his hope that this event will bring together individuals from across the county help make the area more clean. Leggett said that a few individuals have come to him to see if something similar to this could happen on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Leggett said that there is no goal for the cleanup or any anticipated number of how many people will participate, but he hopes that this event will raise awareness and will grow into future efforts that will help the community.

Separately, the Richmond County Health Department will be holding a Household Hazardous Waste and Pesticide Collection Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 10th at 127 Caroline Street in the Division of Social Services parking lot. Individuals can bring oil based paints, aerosols, solvents and degreasers, alkaline and lead acid batteries, fluorescent light tubes, propane cylinders, and paint related materials among many other items.