News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Keep Putnam County Beautiful Clean Commission is celebrating Earth Day all week with scheduled cleanups around the county.
All this week the Clean Commission will provide groups registered with the event materials like safety vests, buckets, litter grabbers and trash bags to aid with clean up. The group hopes the event encourages Putnam County residents to give back to the planet by removing the waste affecting it.
Keep Putnam Beautiful Clean Commission Executive Director Rob Wright said that when it comes to keeping the planet clean, removing this litter is important.
“Having the opportunity to go in and remove this litter is good for our ecosystem, its not getting in our waterways, it’s not clogging up things, it’s not killing animals, things of that nature.”
Wright said that the pandemic has exacerbated the amount of litter, as people were home more and accumulated more waste. To help reduce the amount of waste you create as an individual, Lisa Luck, the program manager for the Putnam County Solid Waste Department, says to buys less, travel less, and most importantly avoid single-use plastics.
“Plastic bags and plastic water bottles blow into the waterways, and actually one of the things about plastic in the waterways is the Tennessee River has more plastic than any other river on earth.”
While the amount of litter to clean up may seem daunting, Luck said the best thing to do is to take action in taking care of the earth, rather than adding to the issue.
“A lot of people may feel they can’t do anything. Well yes, there’s a lot people can do. You need to join the team and be a part of taking care of the earth rather than to be somebody who is a drain and making things worse for all of us.”
If you’d like to register a group to participate in the Earth Week cleanup, go to the Clean Commissions website under their event page.
