South Carolina Citizens Join Statewide Pickup Challenge
Columbia, SC (March 30, 2022) – Lt. Governor Pamela Evette kicked off the Grab A Bag SC spring campaign with a litter pickup event in Laurens County on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Leading by example, Evette encourages South Carolina citizens to get out into their communities and pick up litter from March 30 through Saturday, April 2, 2022.
“Litter prevention is about citizens taking ownership of their neighborhoods and making sure that trash is put in its place before it can become litter,” said Lt. Governor Evette. “But while there is still litter, we must pick it up. Citizens, governments and business industries all have a part to play in changing the culture that leads to litter.”
The kickoff was held at the Laurens County Airport and included Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall, Laurens County Council Chair Brown Patterson, Keep Laurens County Beautiful Coordinator Courtney Stonell, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Policy for Duke Energy South Carolina Heather Shirley Smith, and PalmettoPride Executive Director Sarah Lyles.
“Every time we can engage citizens in litter prevention – whether that is cleaning up or educating our neighbors – we are moving closer to a litter-free SC,” says Lyles.
SC Department of Transportation annual spring cleanup will coincide with Grab A Bag SC. Twice a year, SCDOT holds a statewide, agency-wide litter-pickup. They urge all motorists to stash their trash until reaching their destination where it can be disposed of properly.
“The South Carolina Department of Transportation is once again honored to support Lt. Governor Pamela Evette’s Grab A Bag SC event,” says Hall. “Today, SCDOT employees – from Headquarters to all our county offices – are joining together to pick up roadside litter. This is agency-wide event we hold one day each spring and fall because we firmly believe that litter has no place on our beautiful highways in this great state.”
For the 2022 Grab A Bag SC kickoff, Keep Laurens County Beautiful (KLCB) was selected as a co-host due to the county's extensive efforts to enhance their litter prevention and cleanup initiatives, including a new affiliation with Keep America Beautiful. Laurens County Council was awarded with a PalmettoPride Leaders Against Litter recognition in 2021. Courtney Stonell, KLCB Affiliate Coordinator, expresses her excitement by adding, "what a great opportunity to highlight Laurens County and the work we are doing here, like so many other counties. If everyone will participate and continue joint efforts, we can make such a huge impact across our beautiful state."
Duke Energy has been a leader in environmental efforts in South Carolina, providing necessary grant assistance for hundreds of projects across the state. The company joined the Grab A Bag SC campaign kickoff to present a grant check to PalmettoPride funding litter prevention efforts through the Keep SC Beautiful network.
“We think it’s important to work alongside our community partners to ensure all of the beautiful places in South Carolina can be enjoyed for years to come,” says Mike Callahan, Duke Energy South Carolina state president. “The organizations these funds support will aid in the protection of the environment and provide communities with much-needed resources to promote good stewardship of the natural beauty around us.”
This is the fourth annual litter pickup campaign championed by Evette and coordinated in part with SC Department of Transportation and PalmettoPride. Citizens are encouraged to join the initiative in their own community and share their efforts on social media using #GrabABagSC.
For more information on PalmettoPride, contact info@palmettopride.org.
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PalmettoPride is working towards a litter-free South Carolina. Created as a legislative initiative to fight litter and help beautify South Carolina by engaging citizens to take action in their communities through education, enforcement, awareness and pickup.
