Gratitude should be extended to all the volunteers who cared enough to spend a couple of hours removing detrimental trash from Polk County’s waterways.

“Clean water starts at the top, and these efforts go a long way to improving the quality of downstream rivers which supply drinking water to many North and South Carolina communities,” Mark Byington said. “As more and more tourist are discovering the beauty of our area, it is economically important that they are not turned away by trash lined roads and waterways.”

NC Big Sweep is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works year-round to educate citizens for litter-free watersheds. Last year, 16,212 volunteers cleaned more than 1,200 miles of waterways to retrieve more than 385,000 pounds of debris statewide.

– article submitted by Mark Byington