Grass grows over empty beer cans and soda bottles at the only public landing on Prestwood Lake. Cigarette butts and scraps of plastic are mixed with the gravel.
“We’re out here at least one month on the water and creek, and you see where everybody’s trashing it and polluting it,” said Site Captain Donnie Auman. “It gets to the point where you say you know there’s something we can do about this.”
And he did. Donnie recruited people to help in his efforts to keep the waterway clean. He went online and found the Beach Sweep River Sweep state program through the Department of Natural Resources.
That was three years ago. They have been holding the event annually ever since.
“This is one of the worst spots. It’s really bad because it’s the only public access,” said Tracee Auman. “It’s awful.”
She noted that the area around the bridge that crosses Prestwood Lake was also a hot spot for litter because people throw trash from their vehicles.
Volunteers gathered early Saturday morning to clean up Prestwood Lake, Black Creek and Lake Robinson in Hartsville as part of the statewide program. The groups collect trash from the waterways, and then they count the number of cans, bottles and other specific types of waste for research.
There were 10 to 12 volunteers at Lake Robinson and just four for the Prestwood Lake cleanup.
Joining the couple on Saturday were volunteers Tommy Jacobs and Garrett Hawk, both of Hartsville. Both have participated in the event since its organization in Hartsville.
“It just has to be done,” said Tracee. “No matter how many volunteers we have.”
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement