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Organizers behind Mecklenburg County's Big Sweep – which happens Saturday -- typically tell volunteers to expect the unexpected during the annual cleanup of local creeks.
Last year, more than 700 volunteers picked up over 16,000 pounds of trash – including 55 tires, and a set of dentures.
This year's event runs 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Big Sweep organizers provide gloves, trash bags, snacks, and drinks. Volunteers are instructed to wear old clothes, sturdy shoes, a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen.
Volunteers can pick their own neighborhood site, or work at one of the designated sweep sites around the county. They are:
-Campbell Creek Greenway, 2100 Margaret Wallace Rd.
-Evergreen Nature Preserve, located in east Charlotte just south of Central Avenue, between Winterfield Place and Norland Road.
-Irwin Creek Greenway, 329 North Irwin Ave.
-Latta Plantation Nature Preserve, 5226 Sample Rd.
-Mallard/Clarks Creek Greenway, 9801 Mallard Creek Rd.
-McMullen Creek Greenway, located off of Pineville-Matthews Road across from the McMullen Creek Marketplace.
-Southside Park, 2645 Toomey Ave.
To register as a volunteer, email erin.oliverio@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov with your name, number in your group and the site where you'll be participating. For more details about the Big Sweep, go to www.ncbigsweep.org.
