- Russell McBride and Bobby McKenzie are cleaning up litter at the Mega Mart gas station, which is a creek, not a ditch.
- McKenzie suggests stricter code enforcement and better stormwater management to prevent recurring litter.
- Watch the video to see how you can help.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Russell McBride and Bobby McKenzie are leading the charge, hitting trouble spots like the Mega Mart gas station on Vallotton Drive, where litter piles up—but is actually a creek.
"As you walk through here, people think this is a ditch, but it's actually a creek—and it's just full of trash. That trash falls all the way down about four miles into Sugar Creek, and this is one of the areas where we call it like a little larger where all the trash builds up."
McBride says they’ve cleaned the same spots over and over again, but without accountability, the trash keeps coming back.
"We've had people come up to us while we've been here asking what we're doing. Bobby and I came out a couple of Fridays ago and cleaned out a lot, and it's already back now."
McKenzie believes stricter code enforcement and better stormwater management could help.
"Code enforcement not coming out here and pushing the business owner to clean up the property is one issue. Stormwater manager not following up on the stormwater contract is another issue."
The City of Valdosta's been working to address this; Click N Fix It app lets residents report littered spots across the city
Despite the setbacks, McBride says their work is making a difference.
"This guy was like, 'Thank y'all for cleaning up out here—nobody cares about this part of town.' We're going to prove to them we care just as much about this side of town as any other—because it all goes through the river."
The Goat Keepers will have another clean up at One Mile Branch scheduled for March 29th. In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.
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