By HEATHER WALTERS
About 1,860 pounds of trash were picked up from along Keegan Road in Colleton on Saturday morning as part of a “Love Where You Live” anti-litter effort organized by two large leadership groups in Colleton County.
An additional 345 pounds of trash were collected from a separate road in Walterboro during this same anti-litter clean-up drive.
Volunteers with both the Keep Walterboro Beautiful non-profit organization, Keeping Colleton Beautiful, and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office met on Saturday morning and began working for several hours, collecting and removing litter.
Volunteers from the sheriff’s office cleared debris from Keegan Road to Sidneys Road, near Walterboro, while volunteers from the Keep Walterboro Beautiful organization worked to remove litter from the Colleton Loop area of the city.
In all, CCSO collected 62 bags of trash just from the Keegan Road area.
Each 40-gallon bag weighed about 30 pounds, according to Shalane Lowes, spokeswoman for the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Dana Cheney with Keep Walterboro Beautiful, about 18 volunteers from several different groups participated in the Saturday morning clean-up, working to remove additional litter from along the Colleton Loop area of Walterboro.
Volunteers included students from the Colleton County High School Honor Society and the Keep Walterboro Beautiful Adopt-A-Street Program.
Parents of students in the honor society also participated in the anti-litter effort, he said.
Those volunteering with the Keep Walterboro Beautiful organization picked up 345 pounds of litter from along Colleton Loop. This was about 18 bags of trash, according to Cheney.
The total amount of litter collected by both groups on Saturday was 80 bags of trash, equaling 2,205 pounds of debris removed from local roads.
In addition, to Keep Walterboro Beautiful and community volunteers, the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office also joined in the effort. These two groups came together for the recent event, which they dubbed “Love Where You Live.”
Acting as volunteers under the sheriff’s office were the Colleton County Sheriff Explorers, who are teens wanting to learn about law enforcement.
Sheriff Buddy Hill also helped to clean roads, in addition to local sheriff’s office Spokeswoman Shalane Lowes and two sergeants from within the sheriff’s office. Also assisting in the litter cleanup effort were Colleton County Deputy Charles Strickland, Colleton County Sheriff’s Office Victim’s Advocate Doretha Grant, and Colleton County Courthouse Officer Tracy Horvath.
“Littering isn’t just illegal. It negatively affects our environment and potential to attract future business, industries, and tourism,” said Hill. Hill is also asking the entire Colleton community to get involved in the anti-litter efforts in Colleton County.
“Although most residents love the thought of a litter-free Colleton, some make the job of keeping Colleton clean and green even more difficult,” he said. “It’s the obligation of all people to protect and maintain public spaces and roadsides by disposing of trash in the appropriate area.
How to get involved
Future “Love Where You Live” litter cleanup dates are planned. Each litter cleanup event is from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and will happen at the following locations:
June 19
CITY: Rivers Street in Walterboro;
COUNTY: Bonnie Doone;
July 10
CITY: Robertson Boulevard from Wichman Street to Lemacks Street in Walterboro;
COUNTY: Greenpond;
August 7
CITY: North Lemacks Street in Walterboro.
COUNTY: Cypress Pond Rd.
If you or your organization would like to participate in cleaning up the city, contact Dana Cheney at cleancitywalterboro@gmail.com. For the county, contact Public Information Officer Shalane Lowes at slowes@colletoncounty.org.
