Don't Litter!

Litter is unattractive. Roads covered in fast food wrappers, cigarette butts, soda cans, coffee cups, plastic bottles and many other items pose a dangerous threat to our water supply. Many people don't realize litter and pollution from our roads are washed into storm drains and transported into the nearest body of water.  As a result, the litter we see when we're out boating or swimming is often trash that was thrown out of a car on a nearby roadway.  Not only is it unsightly, litter poses a major threat to the environment. It threatens water quality by leaching hazardous materials into the water, endangering the health of the humans and animals that come into contact with it.  Litter can also be a choking and entanglement hazard for wildlife.  Some litter might look like food to wildlife, or they might simply get tangled up in the debris as they go about their daily business.    Citizens must take responsibility for some of the litter that accumulates on our local roads and in our local waterways.  The more litter we can prevent, the healthier our waterbodies will be. 

To help in the fight against litter, volunteer with NC StreamWatch and the NC Big Sweep, both organized locally by your Stormwater SMART Education Coordinator.