Keep Rutherford County Beautiful Litter Committee Meeting

Keep Rutherford County Beautiful

Litter Committee Agenda

August 19th, 2025

Spindale House, 12 p.m.

Attendees: Robin Worchester, Rick Trader, Eddie Mote, Jerry Stensland,

Daphne Homen, Allie Houtz

1. Litter Bowl

   1. Dates set for Sept 19th-29th

   2. Guidelines

      1. New rule: 50% of weight must be from school groups

      2. Forms and all other rules remain the same

   3. Participating schools

      1. R-S Central, East Rutherford, REaCH, LLCA, Homeschoolers of RC confirmed

      2. Seeking commitments from Chase, TJCA, Master’s Academy, Trinity

         1. Contact for Master’s Academy and Trinity from Rick Trader

         2. Reach out to HARC about parent and student visit

         3. Visiting TJCA's Envirothon team on 9/5

   4. School visits

      1. East Rutherford

         1. 9/5 or 9/19 football game, waiting on confirmation

      2. RS Central

         1. Combine with Paint It Blue Day on 9/8

      3. Lake Lure Classical Academy

         1. Class visit or assembly TBD

2. Cigarette Litter Prevention Program

   1. Receptacle locations

      1. Coxe Rd, Gray’s Rd, 221, 221A, bus stop in downtown Spindale

      2. Government services building

      3. Rutherfordton courthouse

      4. Daphne and Allie conducting cigarette litter scans at each location for KAB reporting

   2. Campaign

      1. Signage on receptacles

         1. Voted on three options, finalized version in the works

      2. Billboard, stickers, social posts

         1. Hedrick billboard company recommended

3. Greatest American Cleanup

   1. Statewide partnership with Keep NC Beautiful

      1. Keep NC Beautiful is providing grabbers, t-shirts, gloves, bags, and promo

      2. Sept 27th - Fall River Sweep in partnership with ROC

      3. Nov 15th - Downtown Spindale and Thermal Belt Rail Trail Cleanup

         1. Also America Recycles Day, sort recyclables at end of cleanup as an educational component

4. Upcoming Events

   1. Paint It Blue Day - Sept 8th at 3:30pm

      1. Garden workday at RS Central

   2. Annual Fall River Sweep - Sept 27th

      1. Sign up here!

   3. Hilltop Fall Festival - Oct 4th

      1. Seeking volunteers to help table

   4. America Recycles Day - Nov 15th

      1. Downtown Spindale and Thermal Belt Rail Trail Cleanup Event

      2. More information coming soon

5. Upcoming Schedule

   1. Full Committee Meeting – Nov 11th at 12 p.m.

      1. No meeting in September, gather a group for Fall Litter Sweep instead!

6. Additional Notes

   1. Lowes Foundation Grant - cycle begins in Aug 2026