[Durham INC] Durham Big Sweep Collects 13,725 Pounds of Trash

[PublicAffairs]

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City of Durham
Durham County

Joint News Release

For Immediate Release: November 3, 2014

News Media Contacts:
Amy Blalock
Sr. Public Affairs Specialist, City of Durham
(919) 560-4123, ext. 11253
Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov<mailto:Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov>

Dawn Dudley
Sr. Public Information Specialist, Durham County
(919) 560-0008
ddudley at dconc.gov<mailto:ddudley at dconc.gov>

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Share! Durham Big Sweep collects 13,725 pounds of trash; http://bit.ly/1wrLC4z


2014 Durham Big Sweep Collects 13,725 Pounds of Trash

DURHAM, NC - Last month, residents participated in a bit of fall cleaning in Durham's parks, streets, water bodies and shorelines as part of 2014 Durham Big Sweep.

While clean-up results are still coming in, 485 volunteers cleaned 23 different sites around Durham, resulting in an estimated 13,725 pounds of trash being collected from throughout the community. According to Durham Big Sweep Coordinator Jennifer Brooks with the Durham County Soil and Water Conservation District, much of the trash collected was fished out of local streams that flow directly to Falls and Jordan Lakes, two major drinking water sources.

"Volunteers bagged nearly 119 trash bags of litter, 18 bags of recyclables, and over 10,265 pounds of trash too big for garbage bags," said Brooks. "Among trash collected were items such as  tires, old washing machines, various pieces of wood and fences, Styrofoam packing foam, bricks, bed frames, PVC piping, a VW Bug car, a metal frame playground set with slide, toys, metal sheets, an old portable TV, rusty wire, and much more. All of these items were littering our community or sitting in our drinking water sources. That's why this event is so important each year and why we appreciate our volunteers for coming out and making a real difference in the environmental health of our community."

The 2014 Durham Big Sweep was coordinated by the Durham County Soil and Water Conservation District, the City of Durham Public Works Department Stormwater and GIS Services Division, and Keep Durham Beautiful, Inc. with the support from the Durham County Department of General Services and the City of Durham Neighborhood Improvement Services Department, which picked up trash and recyclables at each cleanup site.

North Carolina Big Sweep is an annual environmental service event that happens across North Carolina, and Durham has been participating in the event for over a decade. Durham residents, organizations, and groups interested in receiving information about volunteering for the 2015 Durham Big Sweep should contact Brooks at (919) 560-0558 or by email at jbrooks at dconc.gov<mailto:jbrooks at dconc.gov>. Volunteers may also register to join the mailing list on the Durham Big Sweep website at http://Bit.ly/DurhamBigSweep.

About North Carolina Big Sweep
North Carolina Big Sweep was founded as Beach Sweep in 1987. In 1989, a public-private partnership officially became Big Sweep, the nation's first statewide waterway clean-up. Since its founding, North Carolina Big Sweep has had more than 200,000 volunteers and collected millions of pounds of trash from North Carolina watersheds. To learn more, visit http://www.NCBigSweep.org.

About Keep Durham Beautiful, Inc.
Keep Durham Beautiful, Inc. is a nonprofit, volunteer organization working in partnership with the City of Durham's General Services Department and Durham County to encourage individuals, businesses, and community organizations to conserve and enhance the appearance and environment of Durham through cleanup events, beautification projects, and educational activities. For more information, visit http://www.KeepDurhamBeautiful.org, like http://www.Facebook.com/KeepDurhamBeautiful, and follow @DurhamBeautiful<http://www.Twitter.com/DurhamBeautiful>.

About the City of Durham Public Works Department Stormwater and GIS Services Division
The Public Works Department Stormwater and GIS Services Division is guided by the City's strategic plan goals of stewardship of the City's physical assets and well-managed city. Activities include storm drainage design and plans review; inspecting, maintaining, and replacing City-owned drainage systems; enforcing stormwater ordinances and regulations; education and outreach; stream monitoring, restoration, and watershed master planning; maintaining multiple layers of the City's geographic information system; and stormwater billing. To learn more, visit http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/op/pwd/GIS/Pages/Home.aspx and http://www.DurhamNC.gov/Stormwater, like http://www.Facebook.com/DurhamNCStormwater, and follow @DurhamStormH2O<http://www.twitter.com/DurhamStormH2O>.

About the Durham County Soil and Water Conservation District
The Durham County Soil and 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 http://dconc.gov/swcd, like http://www.facebook.com/pages/Durham-County-Soil-and-Water-Conservation-District/284665874878187, and follow @DCoSWCD<http://www.twitter.com/DCoSWCD>.
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