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Units targeting trash
New group cleans wherever needed
Moble Trash Unit
Members of a mobile trash unit clean up a road for Keep Forsyth County Beautiful. - photo by Submitted
Upcoming

The next dates for Keep Forsyth County Beautiful’s mobile trash unit are 4:30 p.m. May 13 for students and 1 p.m. May 16 for all volunteers. Go online at www.handsonforsyth.org to sign up and find more information.
Earth Day celebrations honoring the environment will take place today across the nation.

But Keep Forsyth County Beautiful celebrates Earth Day every day, said Kevin Smith, community outreach specialist.

Recently, the organization started a new task force, the mobile trash unit, designed to clean up litter from roads.

Though 85 groups pick up select areas as part of the county’s Adopt-A-Road program, Smith said, the new trash unit goes wherever it’s needed.

“The mobile team was designed originally to hit places that are highly visible, that may not be on any kind of schedule for being picked up and that just have trash issues,” he said.

A group open to anyone meets the third Sunday of each month. A high school group gathers one weekday each month.

The high school group is a “win-win,” Smith said, since students in service clubs can use the outings to accumulate needed service hours while helping beautify the community.

A club from Forsyth Central High voted to donate all its time this year to Keep Forsyth County Beautiful.

West Forsyth High’s Beta Club members have also taken advantage of the monthly volunteer events.

In the April 15 cleanup, students contributed to collecting 45 bags of garbage on Hwy. 20 by the Chattahoochee River, Smith said.

Kelley Grogan, sponsor of West’s Beta Club, said the ease of signing up for monthly cleanups and the clear impact has encouraged students to get involved.

“They can see a direct result of what they’re doing,” she said. “They collect all the trash ... and it’s a big deal because then there’s this mound of garbage that they’ve picked up.”

In addition to the monthly events, Keep Forsyth County Beautiful is holding its annual Great American Cleanup on Saturday. Smith said 350 volunteers are expected.