Removing trash from our creeks, 8th litter gitter in Jefferson County installed at East Lake Park

Here is some good news. Jefferson County’s creeks and streams are getting cleaner. 

Thanks to a grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation, on October 1st, a litter gitter trash collection device was installed in Village Creek at East Lake Park. This is the eighth litter gitter device placed in Jefferson County.

Like every “litter gitter” installation in the county, the East Lake installation was made possible through a  partnership between River Network, Freshwater Land Trust, Osprey Initiative, Village Creek Society, Black Warrior Riverkeeper and the City of Birmingham. 

How Did We Get 8 Litter Gitters?

According to the Freshwater Land Trust, back in 2019 River Network helped start the litter gitters movement in the Greater Birmingham area when they secured funding for a three month pilot project at Valley Creek, also through a Coca-Cola Foundation grant. 

Afterwards, Freshwater Land Trust received a grant from the EPA to fund six litter gitters over three years. The Land Trust is the lead nonprofit organization for Project Litter Gitter throughout Jefferson County. 

Partnerships are the Key to Success

What has been the key to litter gitter’s success? Charles Scribner, executive director of Black Warrior Riverkeeper sums it up in one word… partnerships.

“It has been exciting to launch such a diverse partnership focused on removing litter in the Black Warrior and Cahaba watersheds. Cities, county departments, federal agencies, small businesses, international corporations, local Waterkeepers, land trusts, and national nonprofits have come together for a project that benefits everyone.”

Learn More 

Want to join the litter gitter movement? Need more info? 

Check out the Alabama Rivers Alliance recent Water is Life webinar on the topic.

Or revisit Bham Now’s 2020 stories featuring new installations, earlier this summer in Vestavia Hills, Homewood and Valley Creek in Birmingham.

If you are interested in knowing more about the litter gitter program, contact the Freshwater Land Trust’s Sally LaRue at sally.larue@freshwaterlandtrust.org