The City of High Point and Keep High Point Beautiful are hosting the seventh annual Winter Wipeout litter cleanup campaign, which once again this year will focus on cleaning up litter from the city’s roadways, intersections and other high-traffic areas.

The 2024 version of the event will kick off on Monday, Feb. 5  and run through Sunday, March 3.

During that four-week period, volunteers can pick up cleaning supplies from the city and help spruce up the city on their own schedule.

The Winter Wipeout campaign is being billed by the city as “an easy way to help beautify High Point, care for the environment and serve our community.”

The month-long time frame allows volunteers to choose the times when it’s most convenient for them and their groups to get outside and start picking up litter.

There’s a reason the city holds the event in winter. At this time of year, the trash often hidden by vegetation in summer is usually very obvious. Since many trees, vines and flowers are barren or out of bloom in February, volunteers are better able to see and reach the trash that’s  been hidden for weeks or possibly months.

The Keep High Point Beautiful organization has compiled a list of “litter hotspots” across the town, created largely from information provided by the community members.  Those spots can be found at www.highpointnc.gov/khpb.

 Once a litter hotspot – a street, stream, intersection, etc. – is identified, it’s posted to the city’s  online Litter Hotspots Map.

 Groups of volunteers can submit their own litter hotspot to clean or select an area using the Litter Hotspots map linked within the online registration form.

Keep High Point Beautiful provides items such as trash and recycling bags, gloves, safety vests and grabbers to participating groups.

Sites can be cleaned up anytime between February 5 and March 3.

Volunteers should leave all bags of collected litter on the side of the road – placed together, making sure not to block sidewalks.

When the cleanup is complete, a member of each volunteer group should report the number of bags collected – as well as the number of participating volunteers – by completing a data reporting card provided.

Those interested can visit the City of High Point’s website or use www.highpointnc.gov/winterwipeout for more information on the Winter Wipeout.

Also, those seeking more information can contact Rebecca Coplin at 336-883-3520 or at rebecca.coplin@highpointnc.gov.