By TONY BLACK

Washington Daily News

 

After assisting to remove over three-thousand pounds of garbage from the Pamlico-Tar River and streams last Saturday, the citizens of Washington won the RIVERKEEPER Cleanup Cup for the city.

 

It was the first time in four years of the sixth annual cleanup; Washington has won the RIVERKEEPER Cleanup Cup.

 

One hundred volunteers, including students from Keene State College in Keene, N.H., who took part in an alternative spring break, participated in the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation’s cleanup efforts.  The volunteer efforts occurred in Franklin County, Rocky Mount, Tarboro, Greenville and Washington and Beaufort County.

 

“The students from Keene State, removed trash from Blounts Bay, which still has left over debris from Hurricane Irene,” said Heather Jacobs Deck, who leads the volunteer and educational programs for the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation.

 

The city of Washington, meanwhile, had cleanups in several locations along the Pamlico River at the Pamlico Plantation, Tranters Creek and Haven’s Gardens.

 

“We also spent a good amount of time on Castle Island, which I think it is the cleanest it has been in years,” said Jacobs Deck.

 

High waters though cancelled cleaning efforts canceled in Tarboro and Greenville, but volunteers still came out to clean the land near the river. 620 pounds of debris were removed from the Tarboro area.

 

Some of the items removed from the banks were several tires, a no wake buoy, an inflatable bounce house, and an old glass window pane.

 

The Pamlico-Tar River Foundation has organized biannual river cleanups since 2006, which began just as a friendly wager between the former mayors of Washington and Greenville.

 

To date, volunteers have removed almost 26.5 tons of trash from the river and river basin communities over the past 8 years.

 

“Later this spring we will set up a time with Washington’s city council and Mayor Mac Hodges to present RIVERKEEPER Cleanup Cup,” Jacobs Deck said.

 

In October, The Pamlico-Tar River Foundation will assist with the North Carolina Estuarium’s Big Sweep in Washington and Greenville.