FORT BENNING, Ga., (Oct. 15, 2014) -- Participants of this year's Help the Hooch collected 35 yards worth of cans, bottles, tires and other trash from the land and waterways across Fort Benning Oct. 9.
More than 150 volunteers met at Russ Pond before dividing into teams and cleaning various locations. Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation's Outdoor Recreation and the Fort Benning Environmental Management Division partnered for the cleanup.
Jessica Loughman, EMD watershed specialist and event co-coordinator, said the event helps to clean the environment and educate volunteers on how to be good stewards of their communities.
"Ever since we started doing this it has worked very well and teaches people that throwing just one bottle on the ground affects our local streams, waterways and rivers," she said. "They can actually see how much trash we pick up every year."
Loughman said although the amount of trash collected has remained the same, the types of trash has changed over the years.
"We had lots of hazardous waste and large items like sofas, beds and televisions before, but as the years have progressed we very rarely find those items ever since Fort Benning started the hazardous waste turn-in day three years ago," she said.
Sgt. 1st Class Oliver Thorpe and Soldiers from Fort Benning Veterinary Services participated in the cleanup this year to develop camaraderie and environmental awareness.
"We decided to use it as a tool to help our Soldiers work as a team and help the community and our environment," Thorpe said. "It was a great way to give back and help clean up Fort Benning."
At the end of the cleanup, volunteers were treated to a "thank you" lunch and free T-shirts at Russ Pond.
"We feel very happy about their involvement because they always tell us they didn't realize how much trash is generated just by throwing it on the ground," Loughman said. "They never thought about how quickly it multiplies from just one person to 1,000 people throwing something on the ground. Now they actually want to tell people to throw their trash in a proper container."
For more information about Help the Hooch, visit www.benningmwr.com.
Tune into The Benning Report, Fort Benning's broadcast news program, Oct. 20 to see a segment on the Help the Hooch cleanup.
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