LAURINBURG — More than 100 people have signed up to give Scotland County a spring cleaning — and it’s not too late to join them.

So far, 12 groups have signed up to pull on protective gloves and take to the streets to bag some trash in the Laurinburg-Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce’s semi-annual litter sweep, which began Monday and will end on Saturday at 3 p.m.

“I think our litter problem is the number one thing that we can fix to make Scotland County a better place to live,” said Rodney Byrd, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce’s Green Committee and beautification supervisor for the city of Laurinburg.

In addition to the satisfaction of leaving a clean roadway behind, teams also have the chance to win the $200 “King of the Mountain” prize or $100 second prize awarded to the teams who collect the most garbage by weight.

Teams can select any area of the county they would like to clean — provided another team isn’t already covering it — and sign up at the Chamber of Commerce office at 606 Atkinson Street.

“We’ve got so many heavy litter areas in Laurinburg, actually out in the county too, that there’s plenty of places to go to find litter,” said Byrd.

The chamber will provide vests, gloves, and trash bags. Once full, bags can be dropped off at any county recycling center, where the weight will be recorded.

Though some teams enlist the help of dozens of volunteers, the Chamber welcomes individuals as well.

“We try to encourage everybody and get as many groups as we can to come out,” Byrd said. “We actually had a lady that won it one year and she picked up all by herself.”

The Chamber of Commerce’s spring and fall litter sweep efforts regularly result in the elimination of tons of trash from the county’s roads. In last year’s spring litter sweep, participants collected more than 2,700 pounds of garbage, and some years the quantity of trash picked up has exceeded 10,000 pounds.

For information, call the Laurinburg-Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce at 910-276-7420.

Mary Katherine Murphy can be reached at 910-506-3169.

Mary Katherine Murphy | The Laurinburg Exchange Members of the Laurinburg-Scotland County Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals’ Network Megan Harvey and Sam Fulton prepared to pick up trash along Railroad Street on Monday night for the Chamber of Commerce Spring Litter Sweep, which ends Saturday at 3 p.m.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_IMG_1724.jpgMary Katherine Murphy | The Laurinburg Exchange Members of the Laurinburg-Scotland County Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals’ Network Megan Harvey and Sam Fulton prepared to pick up trash along Railroad Street on Monday night for the Chamber of Commerce Spring Litter Sweep, which ends Saturday at 3 p.m.

Mary Katherine Murphy | The Laurinburg Exchange Members of the Laurinburg-Scotland County Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals’ Network Megan Harvey and Sam Fulton prepared to pick up trash along Railroad Street on Monday night for the Chamber of Commerce Spring Litter Sweep, which ends Saturday at 3 p.m.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_IMG_1729.jpgMary Katherine Murphy | The Laurinburg Exchange Members of the Laurinburg-Scotland County Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals’ Network Megan Harvey and Sam Fulton prepared to pick up trash along Railroad Street on Monday night for the Chamber of Commerce Spring Litter Sweep, which ends Saturday at 3 p.m.
Litter sweep ends on Saturday

Mary Katherine Murphy

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Litter Sweep is the North Carolina Department of Transportation statewide roadside litter removal initiative. Volunteers are requested to locally participate in the Governor proclaimed “Litter Sweep” to help beautify their communities by removing litter from North Carolina’s roadways.

In addition to volunteers, the NCDOT maintenance crews devote one week of their time during Litter Sweep to pick up litter and collect orange bags from the roadsides once volunteers have completed their cleanups.

Litter Sweep is traditionally scheduled for April and September.

For information, call the Litter Sweep Hotline at 800-331-5864.

Those interested in sponsoring litter removal along North Carolina Interstate highways, can visit the Sponsor-A-Highway Program webpage.