KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Eight months into the pandemic in Knox County, Keep Knoxville Beautiful revealed PPE litter is still a problem.
Disposable masks, gloves and Clorox wipes are still littering streams, streets and parking lots in Knoxville, but there are things you can do to help.
Keep Knoxville Beautiful took a three-month hiatus during the pandemic when volunteers were not out collecting trash in the county. Like most organizations, the non-profit wanted to find a safe way for volunteers to help out.
Now, they are back hosting clean-up events and clearing out litter each month.
Even though more people are now wearing cloth masks than they were in March, every bit of trash dropped on the ground adds up, according to KKB Executive Director Alanna McKissack.
"That little item, while it may be small, it won't break down for hundreds of years or sometimes not at all depending on what it's made of," McKissack said. "That little thing can really ruin an entire environment."
The non-profit is especially worried about the litter making its way into Tennessee waterways, like streams, rivers and lakes.
"All this leads to the creek eventually," McKissack explained. "Once it rains things will go down the storm drain, run off into the creek, so it will eventually hit our river."
If you want to volunteer to help out with the non-profit, aimed at making sure the city stays picked up, there are multiple clean-ups scheduled for each month. Events are usually posted on the KKB Facebook page.
Keep Knoxville beautiful encourages wearing reusable masks, gloves and remembering to pick up after yourself if you do have to use some of those disposable items.
If you do see some litter in streets, streams or even sidewalks, make sure you're wearing the proper protective equipment before you go picking it up yourself. You can always alert a nearby business of the litter so it can be disposed of properly.