Thursday, March 27, 2008

North Richland Hills needs environmentally-conscious trash picker uppers

By Pegasus News wire

The City of North Richland Hills is joining communities from across the state for the Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 5.

Photo not provided by City of NRH

Rufe Snow is under here somewhere.

Local businesses, sports organizations, service clubs, churches, community groups and neighborhoods are encouraged to participate and help pick up litter from roadsides, parks, waterways and neighborhoods. Gloves, safety vests and trash bags will be provided.

Volunteers are encouraged to pre-register for the Trash-Off by contacting Debbie York at 817-427-6651 or by e-mailing dyork@nrhtx.com. Volunteers who are not pre-registered may meet at the NRH Neighborhood Services Department at 9 a.m. on April 5 for supplies and assignments. The Neighborhood Services Department is located at 7200C Dick Fisher Drive South. Following the clean up participants will receive a coupon for a free lunch from the Chick-Fil-A on Rufe Snow Drive.

The Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off is the largest one-day statewide cleanup event in the U.S. and is co-sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB).

“Until every Texan uses a litterbag in their car and refuses to litter, there will always be a need for Trash-Off,” said Doris Howdeshell, Travel Information Division Director for TxDOT. “Because of the prevalence of litter, we consider Trash-Off one of the best events to help bring people together to clean up our roadways and cities. In fact, we’d love to double last year’s turnout, so we’re asking everyone to volunteer and bring a friend.”

TxDOT is also trying to inject a little levity into litter collecting with the opportunity to share strange rubbish stories. Volunteers can take a picture of their “Weird Trash Find” and send it to WTF@DontMessWithTexas.org for the opportunity to be featured on the Web site. Some unusual finds from years past include a child’s swimming pool, a vacuum cleaner and a fishing pole.

The annual Trash-Off is now in its 22nd year and is Texas’ signature litter pick-up event for the national Great American Cleanup which runs March 1 through May 31. Great American Cleanup activities can include cleanup, fix-up, paint-up, green-up projects to help keep our community beautiful.

For more information about the Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off and other Great American Cleanup activities, please contact Debbie York at 817-427-6651 or by e-mailing dyork@nrhtx.com.

Source: City of NRH

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