Volunteers spend Saturday cleaning up litter along Raleigh roads

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- While most of you enjoy a relaxing weekend, several community minded volunteers spent part of Saturday patrolling grassy shoulders beside roads in Raleigh.

Stormie Forte, the city councilor who represents District D in Southeast Raleigh, smiled while sweating her way through the organized trash pickup near Avent Ferry Road.

It's one of the places where trash can be seen when people drive through that part of the city. For some, it could leave a lasting first impression of Raleigh.

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"Especially the corridors where people walk a lot or drive a lot. Unfortunately people will toss things out their window when they're moving through the city," Forte said.

Now you may think small items like the ones we spotted on that shoulder make little difference when it comes to litter. But it does add up, and that's why the volunteers spent hours out there picking it up.

Forte said if people would just think before they toss, "That would be great! Certainly if folks would carry their litter and trash with them to their destination or to their homes, and deposit it properly there. Certainly some items we pick up today are recyclable items, So to prevent those things from going to the dump, we'd rather have them properly recycled and put in the appropriate containers."

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She hopes people who spotted the volunteers at work, or this report about them, will follow their lead and pick up trash they come across while walking Raleigh streets and greenways.

"It's a beautiful day," she said, smiling. "Get some fresh air and do service work for the city!"