KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Around Knoxville, it may start to seem like litter grows on the side of the road like any other plant. Many people have said it looks like trash is piling up around the city.
Officials said those people could be seeing more litter because there may not be enough foliage to cover the litter up. However, they also said that the city could not safely take volunteers and litter crews out to collect the trash because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It has been harder," said one official with Keep Knoxville Beautiful. "We limit volunteers at events, so we can only have 50 people there. We aren't running as many events as well."
On Saturday, a crew of 12 Public Service Department employees picked up a pile of roadside litter despite wet weather and traffic. They started at 7 a.m. and worked for eight hours, according to officials.
In total, a vacuum truck sucked up an additional 5,500 pounds of paper trash, plastic bottles, fast-food packaging, coffee cups and lids.
Keep Knoxville Beautiful and other neighborhood groups are conducting cleanups to try and keep the city clean. One event is being held at Ball Camp Park on Saturday, Feb. 27.
The city is also asking people who see areas with a lot of trash to call its 311 center to report them.