The City of North
Richland Hills is joining communities from
across the state for the Don’t Mess with Texas
Trash-Off from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April
5.
Local
businesses, sports organizations, service clubs,
churches, community groups and neighborhoods are
encouraged to participate and help pick up
litter from
roadsides, parks,
waterways and neighborhoods. Gloves, safety
vests and trash bags will be provided.
Volunteers are
encouraged to pre-register for the Trash-Off by
contacting Debbie York at 817-427-6651 or by
e-mailing
dyork@nrhtx.com. Volunteers who are not
pre-registered may meet at the NRH Neighborhood
Services Department at 9 a.m. on April 5 for
supplies and assignments. The Neighborhood
Services Department is located at 7200C Dick
Fisher Drive South. Following the clean up
participants will receive a coupon for a free
lunch from the Chick-Fil-A
on Rufe Snow Drive.
The Don’t Mess
with Texas Trash-Off is the largest one-day
statewide cleanup event in the U.S. and is
co-sponsored by the Texas Department of
Transportation (TxDOT)
and Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB).
“Until every Texan
uses a litterbag in their car and refuses to
litter, there will always be a need for
Trash-Off,” said Doris Howdeshell, Travel
Information Division Director for
TxDOT. “Because
of the prevalence of litter, we consider
Trash-Off one of the best events to help bring
people together to clean up our roadways and
cities. In fact, we’d love to double last year’s
turnout, so we’re asking everyone to volunteer
and bring a friend.”
TxDOT
is also trying to inject a little levity into
litter collecting with the opportunity to share
strange rubbish stories. Volunteers can take a
picture of their “Weird Trash Find” and send it
to
WTF@DontMessWithTexas.org for the
opportunity to be featured on the Web site. Some
unusual finds from years past include a child’s
swimming pool, a vacuum cleaner and a fishing
pole.
The annual
Trash-Off is now in its 22nd year and
is Texas’ signature litter pick-up event for the
national Great American Cleanup which runs March
1 through May 31. Great American Cleanup
activities can include cleanup, fix-up,
paint-up, green-up
projects to help keep our community beautiful.
For more
information about the Don’t Mess with Texas
Trash-Off and other Great American Cleanup
activities, please contact Debbie York at
817-427-6651 or by e-mailing
dyork@nrhtx.com.
