Community News

City, county promote spring Litter Sweep April 15-29

Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk and Henderson County Commission Chair Rebecca McCall appeal for volunteers to join the statewide spring Litter Sweep April 15-22. [HENDERSON COUNTY PSA]

By Lightning Reports, Published: April 5, 2023

A tireless campaigner for anti-litter efforts, Henderson County Commission Chair Rebecca McCall was dismayed to observe another example of trashy behavior recently.

"On the way to Hillandale School to pick up my granddaughter, I was going by Flat Rock Park and there somebody had pulled over and thrown out all their McDonald's waste," she said. "It was so frustrating. If I'd had the right tools in the car, I would have stopped and picked it up."

McCall made the comment Monday night before commissioners heard a staff report on what the county can do to combat roadside trash. Among ideas County Engineer Marcus Jones presented were:

• Holding a contest to encourage clubs and nonpropfits to pick up litter and give special recognize for the most collected.
• Joining the Adopt a Highway program.
• Encouraging more corporations to sponsor Adopt a Highway programs for stretches of road.
• Getting into the litter business in-house, at a cost of $750,000 for specialized vehicles and equipment and $150,000 a year for a supervisor and two workers.

McCall said the county should check into the highways that have been adopted by a company and find out whether they're still active in picking up trash. "A lot of those highways that have an Adopt a Highway sponsor have not been touched in a while," she said. There was no support for making litter pickup a county-funded service.

Although some may say the county has higher priorities, McCall said litter matters because it reflect poorly on the county.

"It's a big problem," she said. "When you have visitors coming and when you have companies coming to build their businesses here, to see the litter on the side of the road and we're not taking care of it is somewhat alarming."

She announced that the countywide litter pickup day will take place at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 22, starting at the old BB&T bank on Dana Road at Four Seasons Boulevard.

In the meantime, wearing orange safety vests and using litter-pickup tools, McCall and Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk released a public service announcement Wednesday promoting the statewide spring Litter Sweep week April 15-29.

"We are doing our part to keep our roadsides clean and so can you," Volk says.

McCall adds: "We want to encourage all Henderson County residents to participate in the spring Litter Sweep April 15 through 29th. Working together we can make a difference and keep our county beautiful and litter free."