News Flash

International Coast Cleanups, September 1 – October 31, various locations in Hampton. Need volunteers to be site captains and cleanup crew members for each site. Most cleanups will last no more than two hours. Land and water sites available. Boating cleanup volunteers must provide their own boat and have their own life jackets. Contact causink@hampton.gov for more information.

Interstate Interchange Cleanup Volunteers Needed! We need adult volunteers who HATE the litter on our interstate ramps to help Public Works clean it up about twice a month on Saturdays starting in October, tentative start time 9am. Public Works will provide safety measures, HCCC will provide equipment and transportation to the ramps along with all the appreciation we can give you. Contact hccc@hampton.gov for more information. Sign up for one ramp or all of them! We just want to get those nasty things cleaned up!

Community Cleanup, Little Back River Road, September 20, 9am – 10:30am. We need volunteers to help clean up this corner of Hampton. Contact cfharris@hampton.gov to sign up and for more information.

Community Appearance & Litter Index, October 9, 8am – 5pm, lunch provided. We need adult volunteers to evaluate 100 areas of Hampton for litter, abandoned vehicles, graffiti, illegal signs, and outdoor storage. Volunteers will be trained in the use of the index before embarking on the day-long event, transportation provided from HCCC. This activity is required for HCCC to retain its good standing with Keep America Beautiful. Contact cfharris@hampton.gov for information.

Schools Appearance Index, October 26, 8:30am – 5pm, lunch provided. We need adult volunteers to evaluate schools in Hampton. Volunteers will be trained in the use of the index before embarking on the day-long event, transportation provided from HCCC. Contact cfharris@hampton.gov for information.

Seize The Bay Trash-to-Art Show Call for Artists: The third biennial Seize the Bay trash to art show is about to launch! Sponsored by Hampton Waterways Restoration Project [HWRP] and Hampton University Museum, and supporting the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Hampton University's oyster restoration program to clean our waterways. Artists are asked to create artwork that celebrates the Bay, and if possible, to use "found objects", aka trash, in the pieces. Artwork would be donated and auctioned off at the show November 2-9, 2019 at the Hampton University Museum on HU's campus. Open to all! Pieces created for the previous two shows were incredible and everyone is looking forward to what you've got this year! Here’s a link to the Facebook Album showing the 2017 show: http://bit.ly/SeizeTheBayArtShowAlbum.

Contact causink@hampton.gov with any questions. Thank you all for your help in the past and in advance for this year!

Tour de Recycling Expanded, November 15, 9am – 4pm. Join HCCC on an expanded version of Tour de Recycling on America Recycles Day! Tour the TFC Recycling material recovery facility, where our recyclables are sorted and shipped off to various manufacturers; the Hampton steam plant, where our trash is burned for energy used by NASA; the VPPSA Composting Facility, where our leaves, grass, and woody waste is recycled into compost and mulch; Bethel Landfill, where a surprising amount of trash is pulled out for recycling and where the gas released from our buried trash is turned into electricity; and finally Goodwill, where the materials we donate are either reused as is or recycled into new products! And, pending final approval, we’ll be starting our tour at a site that was recycled from a landfill into a golf course! Sign up at cfharris@hampton.gov to join in! Seating is limited, you must wear closed-toed shoes and washable clothing and bring your lunch.

Check Out & Clean Up! Did you know you could check out cleanup equipment from our libraries? You can clean up your street, your neighborhood, or a nearby park! Yes, you CAN! Try it out! Ask at your favorite library branch! Have you tried it yet?

Recycle Right Tip of the Day! Leave the labels on your containers!

If you have questions, ask 311 or HCCC (hccc@hampton.gov).

Plastic Bag Recycling: You CAN recycle plastic bags and wrap, but ONLY at store or civic organization drop-offs. As a matter of fact, you can drop them off at Hampton’s community gardens or HCCC to help earn plastic benches for the community gardens. The locations are: North Phoebus Community Center, 249 W. Chamberlin Avenue; Phoebus, 124 S. Hope St.; Buckroe, 710 Buckroe Avenue; or HCCC, 1296 Thomas Street. The Hampton Master Gardeners and Peninsula Master Naturalists also collect them, and some schools will collect them for competitions.