The Great Madison County Litter Sweep Contest is Cancelled!

Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the health and safety of our community, we have decided to cancel the contest. We hope to reschedule this event sometime soon, but we do not have a date set yet.

If you have already collected bags of garbage and received tickets, please hold on to those! You will be able to redeem those during the rescheduled event.

The dates for this year’s contest are March 8-28, 2020. Contestants can sign up for the contest and pick up supplies March 8th through the 14th. The two-week litter sweep contest takes place March 15th through the 28th. Groups that are not signed up cannot participate to win prizes.

$2,000 in prize money for the most bags of trash picked up!
1st place $1,000; 2nd place $600; 3rd place $400

Note: A bag of trash, whether recycled trash or regular trash, will be counted the same. We are not paying more for recycled trash this year.

Supply Pick-Up Centers

Supplies include Trash Pickup in Progress Signs, orange NCDOT safety vests, orange NCDOT trash bags, and gloves. Gloves and vests are limited to 6 each per team. Safety signage is limited to 2 per team.

Hot Springs Welcome Center, 106 Bridge St, Hot Springs, NC 28743
828 622-9932 Monday-Sunday 10-5, admin@hotspringsnc.org

I-26 West North Carolina Welcome Center, 6178 I-26 West, Mars Hill, NC 28754
828 689-4257 Monday-Sunday 8-5, vsealock@nccommerce.com

Madison County Visitors Center, 56 S Main Street, Mars Hill, NC 28754
828 680-9031 Monday-Saturday 10-4, sandy.stevenson@visitmadisoncounty.com

NC Cooperative Extension Center Madison County, 258 Carolina Lane, Marshall, NC 28753
828 649-2411 Monday-Friday 8:00-4:30, Ross_Young@ncsu.edu

How it Works

For those of you who are new to the GMCLSC, or just need a little brush up, here’s how it works:

This contest is open to all Madison County residents or MHU Students who are 12 years of age or older. 12 up to age 18 must have parental consent. Anyone 12 or under cannot participate in the contest.

1. Get a team together, two are more people are considered a team. However you must furnish adequate supervision by one or more adults 21 years of age or older for groups that have participants under 18 years of age. One adult per minor is recommended.

2. Decide a name for your team.

3. Decide a team safety leader

4. The team safety leader will go to one of the Supply Pick-up Centers between the dates of March 8th thru 14th 2020, sign up for the litter sweep contest and pick up supplies. Supplies include Trash Pickup in Progress Signs, orange NCDOT safety vest, orange NCDOT trash bags, and gloves. Some supplies (gloves & vest) are limited to 6 of each item per team. Safety signage is limited to 2 per team. Any unused supplies, and all Trash Pick-up in Progress Signs must be turned back in to be used again next year. We recommend for safety that all team members use trash pick-up sticks, but we cannot provide them. You can purchase them at Walmart.

5. March 15th through the 28th is the two-week litter sweep. During those two weeks, your team will choose a backroad (s) in Madison County. Pick the trash up, put the trash in the orange NCDOT bags. If it can’t be bagged, it can’t be counted in this contest.

6. Take the trash to the Madison County Solid Waste Main Landfill at 271 Craig Rudisill Road, Marshall or to the nearest Madison County Litter Collection Center (see locations and hours of operation below) between the dates of March 15th through the 28th, 2020. You cannot pick-up or turn in trash for this contest before March 15th or after March 28th.

7. Tell the collection center attendant that you are in the litter sweep contest, and the attendant will give you a ticket stub for each bag of trash your team turns in. The bags need to be full to be counted, but don’t try to compress the trash into bags as sharp objects can cause injury. After the bags have been counted by the attendant, you are responsible for putting the bags of trash into the trash bins. You are also responsible for keeping up with your tickets as lost tickets will not be replaced.

8. Your entire team or just your team safety leader must bring the ticket stubs to the NC Cooperative Extension Center Madison County, 258 Carolina Lane, Marshall on Saturday April 4th at 12 noon to be counted. All tickets turned in must be originals. Any unused orange NCDOT trash bags, any unused gloves, all orange safety vests, and the Trash Pick-Up In Progress signs should also be returned at this time. Failure to turn the Trash Pick-up In Progress signs back in, will result in a charge of $7.00 per sign.

9. The team with the most ticket stubs wins prizes.