Let's 86 Roadside Litter!
Join us on our mission to end littering behavior and create a sense of community pride in Wake County.
Want to Get Involved?
Would your organization like to partner with our campaign to 86, or eliminate, litter in your favorite corner of Wake County? Contact the campaign coordinator, Chelsea Arey, at 86it@wake.gov to discuss your idea. We have collaborated with The Great Raleigh Cleanup, the Town of Holly Springs, NC State University, Walnut Creek Wetland Center, and many other businesses and nonprofit organizations. Our support can include lending litter grabbers, donating plastic bags, recommending clean-up sites, and covering landfill disposal tipping fees. We cannot provide Dumpsters or send trucks to remove litter collected by volunteers.
We also amplify the voices of businesses and organizations working to reduce waste through our podcast, "No Straw Please!" Past podcast guests include worm farmers, restaurant owners, and coffee roasters. Listen to past episodes on Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Free Litter Kits for Service Projects
What Is a Litter Kit ?
Check out a litter kit and we will provide you with all the materials to conduct a DIY litter cleanup. We provide litter grabbers, safety vests, and plastic bags for collection of garbage and recyclable materials. Reserve a litter kit at least two weeks in advance of your clean-up and choose from one of three locations in central, northern and southern Wake.
Borrowers are expected to dispose of waste at a Wake County Convenience Center. Wake County Solid Waste Management does not haul waste and cannot pick up any items collected by litter kit borrowers. We also ask borrowers to complete a brief online form stating where the litter removal occurred and how many bags of waste were collected. The completed litter surveys help us to document the effectiveness of litter kits and celebrate the contributions of individuals to improving our environment.
History of 86it
In 2008, the Wake County Board of Commissioners adopted a goal to address the roadside litter problem in Wake County. The 86it Anti-Litter Campaign launched in 2010, with strategies and tactics to thoughtfully engage citizen participation in addressing litter.
Every one of us can be a litterer given the right circumstance: from intentionally littering because there isn’t a receptacle nearby to the unintentional escape of a piece of trash from a car door or unsecured load.
The goal of 86it is to change littering behavior and to instill a sense of community pride and responsibility by encouraging a culture that believes:
- Littering is unacceptable to me and those around me;
- Every piece of litter hurts the image of my community and is harmful to the environment; and
- I’m responsible for my own trash.
In order to achieve these goals, 86it uses a multifaceted approach including lending litter kits for individual clean-up efforts and an upbeat social media campaign.