Big Sweep 



By Kathy Hart 



It's been a dirty job, but someone 

 had to do it. 



For 10 years, North Carolina Big 

 Sweep volunteers have removed litter 

 from the state's beaches, lakes, rivers 

 and streams. With the 1996 trash 

 collection in September, Big Sweep will 

 have devoted a decade to one primary 

 purpose — ridding the state's waterways 

 of aquatic debris. 



In all, nearly 80,000 volunteers have 

 participated in this statewide environ- 

 mental event, removing almost 3 million 

 pounds of trash from Tar Heel shore- 

 lines. 



From its beginning as a small beach 

 cleanup, North Carolina Big Sweep has 

 made significant strides. 



It expanded into a statewide event 

 that includes a waterway cleanup in 

 every Tar Heel county, incorporated 

 into a nonprofit organization led by a 

 board of directors and developed a 

 year-round educational effort aimed at 

 youth and adults. 



But Big Sweep 

 could not have 

 succeeded without 

 one key ingredient: 

 partnerships. 



Key linkages 

 among public and 

 private agencies, 

 organizations, 

 programs and corpora- 

 tions have made 

 North Carolina Big 

 Sweep what it is today 

 — a model effort that 

 has been recognized 

 and commended 

 nationally. 



Public agencies, 

 led by North Carolina 



A Lesson 

 in Linkages 



Sea Grant, shepherded the early growth 

 of the cleanup. Lundie Spence, Sea 

 Grant's marine education specialist, 

 carried the cleanup from an idea to a 

 reality in 1987. 



From the beginning, Spence knew 

 the cleanup needed a team approach — 

 groups, agencies and organizations at 

 the state and local level that could 

 mobilize and motivate volunteers to 

 give their time and energy to the 

 problem. 



And the problem was obvious. 

 Litter — everything from foam bait 

 cups to discarded fishing line, aluminum 

 cans to cigarette butts — was a preva- 

 lent part of the beach scene. 



But litter was more than an eyesore. 

 It was a killer. 



Cigarette Butts 



■ ■ 

 I t 



If each cigarette butt measured 2. 5 inches and was laid end to end, 

 the line would stretch 25.9 miles — approximately the distance from Raleigh to Durham. 



Birds, fish and mammals were dying 

 because of debris. Birds were becoming 

 entangled in discarded fishing line. Sea 

 turtles were strangling on plastic bags 

 that they mistook for jellyfish (a favorite 

 food). Wads of trash were found clogging 

 the intestinal tracts of whales and other 

 marine mammals, causing the creatures 

 to starve to death. 



The plight of such wildlife touched 

 people's hearts. 



Then came the news of discarded 

 syringes and medical wastes washing 

 ashore on New York and New Jersey 

 beaches. Aquatic debris became a human 

 concern. People began to realize that 

 oceans and waterways couldn't be used 

 as garbage dumps. 



Armed with photographs of en- 

 tangled animals and magazine articles 

 about medical wastes, Spence began 

 enlisting the help of others. Her fervor 

 and dedication to the problem were 

 contagious. Soon she had secured help 

 from the N.C. Division of Coastal 



Management, the N.C. 



Aquariums, the N.C. 

 Division of Parks and 

 Recreation, N.C. 4-H 

 and the Carteret County 

 Keep America Beautiful 

 program. 



Two years later, 

 Big Sweep began 

 including inland waters. 

 Spence and others 

 realized that litter was 

 more than a beach 

 problem. Sometimes 

 debris washes down- 

 stream, particularly 

 from urban areas. 



"Rivers, lakes and 

 streams are part of a 

 watershed," Spence 



16 JULY/AUGUST 1996 



