"I felt having a coordinator in 

 every county was a milestone for the 

 cleanup," Bolin says. "We wanted 

 citizens in every county to devote some 

 time and effort to removing aquatic 

 debris from their waters. No county or 

 part of the state is immune to this 

 problem." 



Big Sweep organizers also realized 

 that litter wasn't a one-day problem. 

 They quickly saw the need for a year- 

 round educational program aimed at 

 diverse audiences. Big Sweep leaders 

 also wanted to capitalize on the data 

 collected during the cleanup. Each 

 year, volunteers record the amount and 

 types of trash collected on detailed data 

 cards. The summary information 

 gleaned from the cards gives Big 

 Sweep leaders a clear picture of the 

 types of trash littering North Carolina's 

 waterways and who's tossing it 

 overboard or leaving it behind. 



Using this information, Big Sweep 

 organizers developed a multifaceted 

 educational effort. They developed two 

 award-winning aquatic debris activity 

 books for educators working with 

 children ages 5 to 12. For adults, 

 particularly boaters and anglers, 

 Big Sweep leaders developed a boat 

 litterbag, posters and two videos. 

 They also supported a storm drain 

 stenciling project. 



Currently in 

 production is a 

 boaters' pledge card. 

 Boaters pledge to 

 bring back their own 

 litter plus one addi- 

 tional piece. Big 

 Sweep's education 

 committee is also 

 developing a boat 

 sticker/ruler (for 

 measuring fish) with a 

 no-litter message. By 

 making the sticker 

 multifunctional, Big 

 Sweep leaders believe 

 the sticker will gain 

 wider usage and the 

 message greater 

 visibility. Also in 



development is a teacher activity 

 calendar that will offer student educa- 

 tional exercises, watershed information 

 and a list of environmental events. 



Big Sweep has sought and secured 

 corporate funding for all of these 

 projects. Key sponsors have included 

 Duke Power Co., CP&L, ITW Hi-Cone, 

 Glaxo- Wellcome and the Alcoa 

 Foundation. Very little public money 

 has been used to pay for these efforts, 

 but state and university employees 

 have provided time and talent to 

 develop them. 



Because Big Sweep has relied so 

 strongly on the marriage of public and 

 private support, it has been able to draw 

 on the talents and abilities of a range of 

 experts. They have brought innovative 

 ideas and creative solutions to the 

 problem of aquatic debris in North 

 Carolina waterways. North Carolina 

 Big Sweep has been touted as a national 

 model, and other states are now 

 imitating the organizational structure of 

 this successful partnership. The cleanup 

 won five consecutive Take Pride In 

 America national awards and was 

 inducted into the national Take Pride in 

 America Hall of Fame. 



In looking back over Big Sweep's 

 growth, there are several keys to the 

 cleanup's success. They include: 



• a single, consistent message. From 



Metal Cans 



I I 



i i i i n 



VI I I I I I I 



i i i i i i i I 

 i i i i i i i i 



1988 1989. 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 199s 



Big Sweep volunteers collected 198,227 metal cans. 

 If laid end to end, these cans would stretch 14.8 miles. 



its inception. Big Sweep organizers 

 have focused on one message: no litter 

 in North Carolina waters. They have 

 directed the message at a variety of 

 different audiences and tailored the 

 words to the audience, but the message 

 has always been the same. 



• a positive approach. Big Sweep 

 leaders have avoided pointing fingers, 

 instead choosing to encourage people 

 with positive slogans ("You are the 

 solution to water pollution") and 

 educational efforts (boat litterbags). 



• sharing credit for the program's 

 successes. Big Sweep organizers have 

 graciously given credit to all of the state 

 and local agencies, companies, civic 

 groups and individuals who coordinate 

 and fund the cleanup. Sharing credit 

 instills ownership and a sense of pride 

 for the cleanup. 



• lots of publicity. The continued 

 support of sponsors and growth of 

 volunteer support can be directly linked 

 to the amount of media coverage the 

 event draws. Last year, Big Sweep 

 information appeared in 460 newspaper 

 articles and reached 4.6 million televi- 

 sion viewers. It was heard on the radio 

 and seen on posters, brochures and 

 T-shirts. In addition, information about 

 the cleanup was prominently displayed 

 at more than 290 First Citizens Bank 

 branches across the state and in First 



Citizens Bank state- 

 ments and Duke 

 Power Co. bills. 



• coupling data 

 collection and educa- 

 tional projects with a 

 cleanup event. Al- 

 though volunteers like 

 collecting litter and 

 leaving behind cleaner 

 waterways, they also 

 appreciate that the 

 cleanup is more than a 

 single-day event. They 

 like knowing that the 

 data they collect is 

 used to develop 

 targeted education 

 efforts that have a 

 lasting impact. □ 



COASTWATCH 19 



