ASHEVILLE – William “Billy” Clark, Division 13 N.C. Board of Transportation member, donned some gloves, a safety green vest and grabbed a trash bag.
It’s not his typical work attire or equipment, but he wanted to help out with litter pick up.
Clarke joined an N.C. Department of Transportation crew — and Division 13 Engineer Mark Gibbs — on Friday morning for a litter sweep along Meadow Road.
They spent a chunk of the morning picking up plastic bags, glass bottles, aluminum cans, Styrofoam cups, assorted paper and other trash littering the road along the river.
Clarke volunteered to participate in the statewide Litter Sweep which began April 10, to keep North Carolina clean. When it was all said and done, Clarke and the DOT team picked up more than a dozen bags of trash and other debris along Meadow Road.
“This is something that the Board of Transportation is focused on this year,” said Clarke, who joined the board in 2017. “The highways and roadsides are what we show off. We are committed to keeping our roadsides clean. I encourage everyone to not throw trash out the window.”
NCDOT crews, contractors and volunteers have picked up more than 391,000 pounds of trash since Jan. 1, across the seven counties of Division 13, including 96,210 pounds in Buncombe County.
You can help!
There is still time to get involved. Visit this NCDOT page to learn more about Litter Sweep which ends Saturday. Folks may also participate in the popular Adopt-A-Highway program.
Litter is unsightly, costs millions of dollars to remove, harms the environment and hurts tourism along with the quality of life in Asheville and North Carolina.
Please follow these helpful tips:
- Secure loads before driving. Unsecured trash can fly from vehicles and become roadside litter.
- Contain trash until it can be discarded properly. Keep a litter bag in your vehicle.
- Recycle when possible.