• E-Mail
• Print
• Larger
• Smaller

Published: Monday, Mar. 15, 2010 / Updated: Sunday, Mar. 14, 2010 05:38 AM

Great American Cleanup kicks off in York County

Twelve-year-old Amelia Joubert, who swore long ago she’d never litter, picked up an empty beer can on the side of the road and trashed it.

“I can’t believe people do that,” the curly-haired girl said Saturday among dozens of other environmental thinkers. “A lot of people think they can keep using the world’s natural resources, but eventually, something’s going to happen.”

Saturday afternoon, the born volunteer picked up two new environmental causes. Her family visited the compost bin and rain barrel sale in the parking lot of Knights Stadium in Fort Mill Township and bought one of each during York County’s Great American Cleanup kickoff.

The Jouberts will use their new compost bin to hold food scraps that will deteriorate over time and benefit the family vegetable garden at their home in Tega Cay. Leftovers from the food Amelia Joubert eats today will go in the compost bin to help plant fresh broccoli – her favorite – she’ll eat weeks from now.

Water collected in the 55-gallon rain barrel the Jouberts also bought will help the garden grow, too.

The month of March has been dedicated to cleaning up York County. One of the nation’s largest volunteer-based environmental cleanup projects encourages area neighborhoods, schools, churches and businesses to pick up trash, recycle and conserve.

Saturday’s kickoff featured barrel and bin sales. Volunteers with York County Solid Waste Collection and Recycling handed out 261 compost bins and 313 rain barrels, in addition to the nearly 60 sales made earlier this month in pre-orders.

Free document shredding early in the day yielded 8,525 pounds of paper by noon. Cintas document management company provided the service with a mobile shredding truck stationed in the parking lot and will recycle the old checks and confidential papers after shredding it a second time, a representative said.

Sign-up sheets also filled with the names of volunteers who want to clean up neighborhoods throughout the month. They received free gloves and trash bags to hold the cleanups. Supplies are available through March at several locations in the county.

Organizers were thrilled but not surprised at Saturday’s turnout.

“Our community is just so aware,” said Leslie Hatchell, recycling educator and coordinator with the county. “I can’t think of a time when we held something like this and said, ‘Why didn’t anyone come?’”

Volunteers included York County Councilman Paul Lindemann, who said he toured recycling centers as a child and uses a rain barrel to water his lawn and bushes.

“It’s about ownership and pride in our county,” Lindemann said. “We need to make a true effort in keeping this clean.”

On Saturday, two locations will hold Adopt A Stream kickoffs. Volunteers can pick up trash in streams at the Museum of York County on Mount Gallant Road in Rock Hill and at Historic Brattonsville in McConnells, starting at 10 a.m.

WANT TO CLEAN?

If you missed Saturday’s event, supplies for community cleanups are available for free at these locations:

York County Public Works, 220 Public Works Road, York. 803-628-3181

City of Rock Hill Operations Center, 349 Columbia Avenue, Rock Hill. 803-329-7027

Clover Town Hall, 114 Bethel Street, Clover. 803-222-9495

Fort Mill Town Hall, 112 Confederate Street, Fort Mill. 803-547-2116

Tega Cay Administration Office, 120 Shore Line Parkway, Tega Cay. 803-548-3512

City of York Recreation Department, 21 White Rose Lane, York. 803-684-3742