By: David Cox
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With the Great Arkansas Cleanup in full swing, the city of Fayetteville is using volunteers to help keep its parks clean.
According to Keep Arkansas Beautiful, the Great Arkansas Cleanup had more than 5,000 volunteers participating in cleanup efforts across the state during the two-month event last year.
Dozens of volunteers lined up at Lake Sequoyah Park on Saturday to receive supplies and bags to clean trash along the lake and trails.
Brian Pugh, Fayetteville Waste Reduction Coordinator, said the trash comes from people’s litter and the White River system.
“It picks up a lot of trash along the way,” said Pugh. “A lot of that gets washed into the lake. It stays in the lake, it’s a very shallow lake, it’s very hard to access around the dam area.”
Pugh said the trash in the park can range from people’s litter to large items dumped in the park’s wooded areas.
“We’ll end up with couches and tires and some of the big, bulky stuff as well,” Pugh said, “so we get a little bit of everything in regards to trash.”
Pugh also said he appreciates the volunteers who come out to the cleanups and is happy about Fayetteville resident’s environmental awareness.
“I’m really proud to be working with the city of Fayetteville, because there’s an environmental ethic in Fayetteville a lot of people have,” said Pugh. “It really shows when we have these cleanups, and allows people to participate and do something good for the environment.”