On the first day of spring, The Great South Carolina Cleanup initiative kicked off yesterday. The campaign is by PalmettoPride, South Carolina’s anti-litter and beautification organization created by the legislature to fight litter and keep our state clean, green and beautiful. It’s a non-profit, 501(c) 3 organization that is a true public/private partnership comprised of state agencies, concerned citizens, corporate sponsors, and community and civic organization.
According to a survey, 80% of the people who litter do so intentionally. So reducing litter is a matter of getting people to not want to litter. Changing this intentional behavior is done through 4 different avenues: education, law enforcement, raising awareness, and volunteer pickup efforts in local communities.
Studies suggest that seeing litter makes people more likely to litter, so actively cleaning up litter along roadways and in communities can dramatically reduce it. Seeing people clean up their communities and model healthy behavioral change makes the biggest impact.
Easley Beautification Committee and volunteers working to clean up local roads on March 18, 2023.
So who is cleaning up litter around Easley and in South Carolina?
- “Pickens Proud” is Pickens Co Council’s name for this effort. Contacts: Officer Lee and Officer Chapman
- “Pickens County United Way” is willing to coordinate with SC public servants (online portal to sign up for events)
- Easley Public Works partnered with Palmetto Pride
- Keep Pickens County Beautiful: Keep South Carolina Beautiful affiliate
- PCLCC-Pickens County Litter Pickup Crew is a group on Facebook for volunteers who would like to positively impact our community by cleaning up litter on roads and parks.
- Based out of Pickens, SCDOT is responsible for litter clean up on state roads.
- Palmetto Pride/Pickens County Contacts — contact info@palmettopride.org to find out how to plan your own community cleanup. There are 2 litter control officers: (1) Chad Chapman and (2) Jordan Lee.
In Easley, the Beautification Committee holds a litter clean-up day once a month at different locations around the city. They invite volunteers to join in for 2 hours on the 3rd Saturday morning every month.
On March 18, they hosted an Easley Clean Wave along Allan Street, Lowell Road, and Pace Valley. The volunteers picked up 14 bags of rubbish in 2 hours. Due to traffic along those roadways, there was a police presence to remind folks to slow down and take caution while the volunteers worked.
The next event is April 15. Please scan the QR code on the flyer below to sign up for events!
