- The WaterGoat trash trap in Sugar Creek has collected over 8 full 96-gallon cans of debris this year.
- The May 31st cleanup runs from E. Moore Street through N. Ashley Street, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- Watch the video to see how you can help.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Where litter lies, nature dies. And the City of Valdosta wants you to help clean up our neighborhoods before it's too late.
It starts with small things — a tossed fast food bag, a blown-over garbage can — but in a city of more than 60,000 people, that waste builds up quickly.
And unfortunately, much of it ends up in places like creeks and rivers that run through our backyards.
Russell McBride, member of our local environmental group the GoatKeepers, tells me that this year alone, our WaterGoat trash trap in the Sugar Creek area has collected over 8 full 96-gallon cans of debris — all of it diverted from our local water systems.
"You got your water bottles, your McDonald's, stuffed straws, a lighter, cigarette package thing. But the worst, Malia, is this."
That's why the city is doing monthly Love Where You Live road cleanups.
On the 31st, officials and other neighbors will be cleaning up from E. Moore Street through N. Ashley Street, part of a continuing campaign that's Chandra McAllister, our Community Sustainability Coordinator, tells me has already removed nearly dozens bags of trash from problem areas in recent months.
"The importance of it is to help keep our roadways clean and safe. People like to walk on the road — sometimes we don't have sidewalks there — so we want to keep it hazard-free and keep it out of our waterways, and keep our animals safe."
And as a regular fixture at these clean-ups, McBride's seen this damage firsthand.
"It's imperative that the roads get clean because the stuff that gets blown out of trucks, thrown out of windows, ends up on the roads and the parking lots, ends up in the waterways through the stormwater infrastructure, and then makes its way slowly down here."
Make sure to stop by the starting point, 1701 N Ashley Street, as the clean up will be from 9-11am. In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.
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