ROCKINGHAM — More than 8 tons of trash were picked up from Richmond County roadways in October, according to the monthly solid waste report.
Combined efforts from county employees and the N.C. Department of Transportation resulted in 903 bags of litter — weighing in at 8.5 tons — from 27 roads.
County Manager Bryan Land told the Board of Commissioners Tuesday evening that “DOT has ramped up efforts considerably … assisting us.”
NCDOT collected 5.6 tons of garbage from alongside four highways — N.C. 381, U.S. 74 Business, two sections of U.S. 1 and U.S. 220 — in addition to Oak Ridge Church Road and Old Gibson Road.
The remaining 2.9 tons were collected by county employees from county roads, including four sweeps of Airport Road, which netted 28 bags. The same amount was also cleaned from Mill Road.
The report shows there was enough litter to fill a combined 268 bags from U.S. 1, 151 bags from U.S. 220, and 92 bags from N.C. 381. The state also picked up 48 bags from U.S. 74 Bus., 40 from Old Gibson Road and 21 from Oak Ridge Church Road.
The worst areas cleaned by the county were Sandhill Road (31 bags) and Wiregrass Road (29 bags). All other roads resulted in fewer than 20 bags:
- 16 – Battley Dairy, County Home, Hatcher and Mizpah roads
- 14 – Old Cheraw Road
- 12 – Hannah Pickett Avenue
- 11 – Loch Haven Road
- 9 – Freeman Mill, Harrington, Lee Thee Church and Rosalyn roads
- 6 – Church Street, Hall Road
- 5 – Eason Drive, Spring Drive
- 4 – Chalk Road, East Washington Street Ext.
In addition to the litter, 20 discarded tires were removed: four each from N.C. 381 and Hall and Hatcher roads; three each from Mizpah Road and U.S. 1 S; and two from U.S. 74 Bus.
There were also two illegal dumpsites reported and investigated, three warning notices issued and one garbage burning investigation.
October’s collection total is the most of any month so far this year — and more than the Earth Day effort and May amount combined.
Land, who gives monthly litter statistics during his county manager’s report, said NCDOT will be using six to eight inmates per week to pick up trash along main roadways.
“As always, I would like to personally thank everyone who is doing their part in Richmond County to keep our roadways clean and beautiful,” Land said. “I’ve seen more and more folks that are cleaning up areas in front of their houses, a great sign to see.”
Late last month, NCDOT announced that roadside litter collection had reached more than 11 million pounds (5,500 tons) statewide in 2020, surpassing the record set in 2019 at 10.5 million pounds (5,250 tons).
As of late September, around 250 tons had been cleaned up in District 8, which includes Richmond, Chatham, Lee, Hoke, Moore, Montgomery, Randolph and Scotland counties. Records show around 20% of that amount (nearly 50 tons) has been in Richmond.
Land added that the Solid Waste Department should be receiving two new haul trailers this week. The cost of the trailers, he said, is $120,858.
Starting Monday, Nov. 8, the box sites on Airport Road, U.S. 74 in Hamlet and U.S. 1 near Richmond Senior High School will be closing at 6 p.m. due to Daylight Savings Time. All other sites already close at 6 p.m., Land said.
The transfer station and all box sites will be closed Thursday, Nov. 25 for Thanksgiving, with the regular schedule resuming the following day.
Land said the transfer station will also be closed Dec. 23-25 for Christmas, with the regular schedule resuming Dec. 27. All sites will be closed Dec. 24-25, resuming on Dec. 26.
