Big Sweep is a big deal in North Carolina.

It began in 1987 as a coastal cleanup called Beach Sweep started by Dr. Lundie Spence of the N. C. Sea Grant College Program. By 1989, the program expanded inland, changed its name to Big Sweep and became the first statewide waterways cleanup in the nation. Since that beginning in 1987, more than 146,000 volunteers across the state have removed more than 5 million pounds of trash from state beaches and waterways.

Dave Dudek, a wildlife professor at Haywood Community College, is the county coordinator for the Sept. 15 Big Sweep. He said Haywood County’s participation began in 1989 with 15 students and one of HCC’s dump trucks.

The group focused on Richland Creek and it didn’t take long to fill the truck. When the truck was full, the students asked, “what’s next.”

“To the landfill,” was Dudek’s response. But he said the students had another idea. The volume of garbage had quite an impact on the students and they felt others in the community should be made aware.

“They drove the truck to Main Street Waynesville and parked it in front of the courthouse,” Dudek said.

He said he was a little apprehensive at first but didn’t want to dampen the student’s enthusiasm.
“It worked out OK and got a lot of people’s attention,” he said.

Awareness and education are integral parts of the Big Sweep mission. Two student publications, Splish Splash for students age 5 to 7 and Ripples for ages 8 to 11, are available through the organization. Dudek said both are distributed in Haywood County schools.

Laurie Perkins is Swain County’s Big Sweep coordinator. She said the hands-on education volunteers get can be powerful.

“It’s a disgusting job. People have no idea until they participate,” she said.

Data cards are another educational tool used by Big Sweep participants. These data cards allow volunteers to list and quantify the litter collected. Big Sweep has used these cards to identify target user groups for educational focus, help six-pack ring manufacturers determine the effectiveness of degradable rings, determine specific sources of debris (corporations, organizations, etc.), aid the Environmental Protection Agency’s statistical sampling program, provide baseline information for a North Carolina State University economic impact study of marine debris, and assist in other efforts to create a cleaner environment.

Local groups and coordinators have a lot of latitude in organizing events. Peg Jones, Macon County Big Sweep coordinator, said that because of safety concerns her group focuses on small streams, culverts and litter in general.

“It’s all going to wind up in the river, anyway,” Jones said.

And much of it does. Haywood County collected 2,520 pounds of garbage last year. Dudek said the work is frustrating. “There’s just no answer for people who don’t care. That’s why the educational efforts in school are so important,” he said.

Dudek said faculty and students from Central Haywood High School routinely schedule their own cleanup on a date that is convenient for them. Central Haywood has worked on Allen Creek in past years.

He said he thinks there has been some measure of success.

“There’s been a decrease in white goods,” he said, “but plastic bags, cigarette butts and soda bottles are as pervasive as ever.”

Dudek encourages everyone to find a Big Sweep program near him or her and get involved.

“It’s quite an educational opportunity, especially for first timers,” he said.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News