A new device is helping to clean up floatable waste from Clear Creek in Fayetteville.
The city, in partnership with the Osprey Initiative, the Illinois River Watershed Partnership, and others, have installed a ‘Litter-Gitter’ across a portion of the waterway to help collect floatable waste from the creek.
The device, located on Clear Creek just to the west side of the Lake Fayetteville Trail, was installed as part of a pilot program maintained by the Osprey Initiative through a grant from Coca Cola to collect recyclable materials from the creek, gather data, and find solutions to water-born litter in the future.
From the sign located along the trail marking the device:
The litter collection trap you see here is a ‘Litter-Gitter,’ designed to stop litter from polluting our national water system.
The stream, known as Clear Creek, is part of the Illinois River watershed, which encompasses much of northwest Arkansas into northwestern Oklahoma. Stormwater pollution that washes into streams and rivers is a major contributor to the decline in health of our natural waterways. To combat this, the City of Fayetteville has partnered with Coca-Cola and the Illinois River Watershed Partnership to install this Litter-Gitter to capture trash before it is carried downstream into the Illinois River.
-Sign located at Clear Creek Litter Gitter device
The Fayetteville Litter-Gitter is one of two installed locally as part of the program, with the other located in Bentonville upstream of Osage Park, according to Alan Pugh, an engineer on staff with the city of Fayetteville.
“It’s an interesting program, and we’re happy to be a part of it,” Pugh said.
As part of the program, the Osprey Initiative will clean out the device periodically, inventory the items collected, and provide a report of their findings.
Pugh said the Fayetteville device was installed in April, and will remain in place for six months as part of the pilot program.
This story originally appeared in Fayetteville Flyer by Dustin Bartholomew. View the original story here.