ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The Orangeburg Soil and Water Conservation District has spearheaded a movement to combat litter throughout the county. With the help of 170 volunteers, they picked up 27,528 pounds of trash from the county's roadways and landings during the month of April for its spring litter cleanup.
There were a total of 512 bags collected.
“We wanna keep as much of the litter as we can off of our grounds and out of the landfill," said district coordinator Lisa Ridgen.
As education coordinator Diane Curlee explains, throwing trash out on the street comes with consequences. This is especially prevalent in agricultural communities like Orangeburg County because a lot of waste ends up in people's food and waterways.
“Plastics have a way of breaking apart and they get smaller and eventually they are in the soil plants can take them up and incorporate them into the plant, then of course when an animal, or we eat it, that plastic becomes part of us," said Curlee," It's not when is it gonna get in our systems, it's already there. It's a matter of keeping more out."
To stop the cycle, the organization is offering supplies like gloves, grabbers, vests and trash bags to volunteers all year round to keep Orangeburg County clean. It's made possible with the help of the Keep Orangeburg County Beautiful campaign and Palmetto Pride.
This is one of two large cleanups it hosts throughout the year, with the other being in the fall.
Data collected from the cleanups are given to Keep America Beautiful and forwarded to corporate sponsors that contribute funding for litter cleanup supplies.