DEQ News Release

 
News Release
Contact Information: Katherine Benenati / 501.682.0821 / benenati@adeq.state.ar.us
FOR RELEASE: Aug. 13, 2014
ADEQ JOINS IN GREAT ARKANSAS CLEANUP, SEEKING VOLUNTEERS
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is again joining Keep Arkansas Beautiful to clean up a stretch of the Arkansas River as part of the Third Annual Great Arkansas River Cleanup on Sept. 6, 2014.
The agency is seeking volunteers willing to pick up litter to join in the cleanup on foot or by boat. The event will include communities across the state, including a number in Central Arkansas, cleaning up the Arkansas River and other waterways.
Volunteers for the ADEQ cleanup, scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon, should meet at the Cooks Landing Pavilion by the Big Dam Bridge in North Little Rock. On-site registration will start at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers can also sign up ahead of time by emailing ADEQ Watershed Education Coordinator Raven Lawson at Lawson@adeq.state.ar.us or calling her at (501) 682-0022.
This year will be the second year ADEQ will be involved in the cleanup. Last year ADEQ employees and members of the public fanned out to pick up litter from the banks and trail areas of the Arkansas River. Their haul included a hot tub, boat parts and more. ADEQ’s headquarters are off Northshore Drive near Burns Park and the Arkansas River Trail.
“We’re excited to be involved in this event again,” Lawson said. “We had a great response last year and volunteers braved some pretty serious rain. We’re hoping for clearer skies and an even better turnout. The more trash we can keep off our trail system and river banks, the more we can keep out of our waterways.”
Supplies such as gloves, trash bags, and pickup sticks will be provided, and volunteers will receive T-shirts (while supplies last).
Last year’s Great Arkansas River Cleanup drew 250 volunteers statewide, who collected more than 6,000 pounds of litter, according to Keep Arkansas Beautiful. The river cleanup is held in conjunction with the Great Arkansas Cleanup, the annual fall statewide litter pickup campaign promoted by Keep Arkansas Beautiful.
The Great Arkansas Cleanup grew out of an effort that began more than 40 years ago as the Greers Ferry Lake and Little Red River Cleanup. Keep Arkansas Beautiful organized the first statewide Great Arkansas Cleanup in 1989.
As a certified state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc., Keep Arkansas Beautiful works to inspire and educate individuals to reduce litter, recycle and keep Arkansas beautiful. It operates as a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and is overseen by a nine-member commission appointed by the governor.
For more information about Keep Arkansas Beautiful or to find cleanups going on across the state as part of the Great Arkansas Cleanup, visit www.keeparkansasbeautiful.com.
--30--