Litter Letter:

A love letter to Wake County's watersheds

Less litter. Cleaner watersheds. Better tomorrow.

Be the change in your community.

Introducing...the Litter Letter!

Welcome to the new e-mail newsletter of Wake County Big Sweep- Litter Letter! I'm Alex Heinemann, the new Big Sweep Coordinator. I am so excited to unveil our new way of communicating with the heart of our program- you. I’m going to be sending you our Litter Letters every month to provide all the latest information about Big Sweep, including upcoming cleanup events, pre-registration for events, news, shout-outs, outreach, and results.

Wake County Big Sweep has a strong volunteer base and rich history of over 30 years coordinating cleanup events to rid our watersheds of harmful, unsightly litter- litter that pollutes our drinking water sources! Volunteers are how this program runs and we would not be able to accomplish removing thousands of pounds of litter year after year without your dedication and excitement.

Thank you.

If you have comments or suggestions for this newsletter, please feel free to reach out to Alex Heinemann, Big Sweep Coordinator, via email or 919-250-1055.

Visit Big Sweep Website

We Need Your Feedback

Please take a moment to fill out the SurveyMonkey form below by clicking the "Take the Survey" button below.

We are using this information gathered to understand how to better reach you as Big Sweep Volunteers. We truly appreciate your time and dedication over the years. Filling out this form will help us better serve you and provide you with emails that are in your greatest interests.

Take the Survey

New Wake County Big Sweep Coordinator

"I love working with people and creating the next generation of environmental stewards to reduce our environmental impact."

-Alex

A Little About Me

I am Delaware native who grew up watching Steve Irwin and fell in love with our natural world and its resources. Following my passion, I graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor's in Animal and Wildlife Management sciences. I have experience with volunteer and environmental education coordination through nonprofits, education centers, and Fish and Wildlife agencies. When I'm not working, I enjoy spending time with my horse, fishing, doing yoga, hiking, or laughing with friends and family.

Kudos Korner

March Creek Zone: Parnell Bell

Zone Captain, Parnell Bell, at Marsh Creek zone led 16 passionate volunteers to remove a whopping 1,620 lbs of trash and recycling in fall 2021. They collected 27 tires, two shopping carts, a dollhouse, and a mattress and box spring.

New Zone Captain: Denise Spaugh

We would like to shoutout our newest Zone Captain, Denise Spaugh! Denise lead a cleanup on November 7th around her neighborhood in Hedingham Village with 13 volunteers from the community. All together, 720 lbs of trash and recycling were removed, including metal springs, 3 tires, a tv, mirror, and half a car!

Every "Litter" Bit Counts

2021 End of Year Results

While our spring season was cancelled because of COVID-19, our fall season came back in full force thanks to our many dedicated Zone Captains. In total, we removed 12,760 lbs of litter across 18 zones. Please click below or the thumbnail image for the full report!

2021 Report