No one wants to spend the New Year of 2022 with unsightly trash all around them, so one area city, High Point, is doing something about it just as it has for the past five years.

The City and Keep High Point Beautiful are hosting the Sixth Annual Winter Wipeout – a litter collection campaign that focuses largely on sprucing up roadways and intersections in the city.

The one-month campaign starts on Monday, Feb. 7, and runs through Sunday, March 6.  During February and early March, local volunteers can get free supplies and clean up the selected area at the time of their choosing. Keep High Point Beautiful will be providing trash and recycling bags, gloves, safety vests and grabbers, etc. to the participating good Samaritans.

A press release from the city explained the timing of, and reasoning behind, the effort.

“The Winter Wipeout campaign,” it states, “is an easy way to help beautify High Point, take care of the environment and serve our community. The campaign time frame of four weeks allows volunteers to choose when it is most convenient for them to clean. During the winter months, the trash that has been hidden by vegetation is revealed. While many trees, vines and flowers lay dormant, we are better able to see and reach what has been hidden for weeks or possibly months.”

Here’s how it works.

First, Keep High Point Beautiful has put together a list of “litter hotspots” based on information submitted by people in the community online at www.highpointnc.gov/winterwipeout.

After a hotspot  – a trashy street,  stream, intersection,  park, etc. – it will be posted to the city’s online Litter Hotspots Map. Community groups can also submit their own litter hotspots to clean up – or they can select some other area to clean from the online map of needs.

Sites can be cleaned up anytime between Monday, Feb. 7 and Sunday, March 6,

Bags of litter are supposed to be left on the side of the road – grouped together when possible.  Organizers ask volunteers not to block any sidewalks with the bags.

After the cleanup is complete, the group should report the number of bags collected as well as the number of volunteers who took part by completing a provided data reporting card.

Anyone who wants to pitch in and help out can visit the City of High Point’s website or use www.highpointnc.gov/winterwipeout for direct access to more information on the Winter Wipeout. They can also contact Rebecca Coplin at 336-883-3520 or rebecca.coplin@highpointnc.gov.