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?
The 86it anti-litter campaign partners with local organizations to host several large clean-up events annually. Our most recent event was a collaboration with the Town of Holly Springs on Saturday, March 18, 2023, as part of the Regional Creek Week celebration organized by the Clean Water Education Partnership. Twenty-seven volunteers picked up 140 pounds of litter at schools, parks and roadsides in Holly Springs.
Would your organization like to partner with our campaign to 86 litter in your favorite corner of Wake County? Contact the campaign coordinator, Chelsea Arey, at 86it@wake.gov or 919-856-6776.
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 is taking a multifaceted approach to changing behavior through community outreach, organized cleanups, high school program development and an aggressive upbeat social media and marketing campaign.