ROANE COUNTY, TN –   On Wednesday, November 9, the Roane County Green Team, a grass roots movement to make Roane County a cleaner place to live, work and play, implemented a pilot plan to make a difference in the amount of litter on Roane County’s roadways.

“The Green Team effort is really just a group of people who get together and work to make our home a prettier and cleaner place,” said Green Team member and Rockwood City Administrator Becky Ruppe.  “There are so many things we can do together to make this a better place.  It’s also good to work with people from all over our county that believe we can make a difference.”

The pilot program has been implemented in two areas of the county, Hwy 72 between the junction and the schools, and in Rockwood at the Roane County Industrial Park. 

With help from the Rockwood Industrial Development Board signs have been placed intermittently reminding employees within the industrial park that litter has a negative impact on jobs.  In addition, a new sign program to help raise public awareness to not litter will be installed on Highway 72 and Highway 58 south of the river.  Working with the close cooperation of Midway High and Midway Middle Schools, volunteers from all over the county chose a winner for a competition held at Midway High School to create a new slogan for the signs.  The winning student received a $25 gift card for their slogan - “We Are Greener When We Are Cleaner.”

“Litter isn’t just a nuisance,” said Wade Creswell, President of the Roane Alliance.  “It’s also an economic development issue.  If prospects don’t feel like our own people take pride in our area, then they may question why they should come here.”

On Wednesday, November 9, Green Team volunteers worked alongside a litter crew from the Roane County Sheriff’s Office to clean Hwy 72.  Sheriff Jack Stockton and his staff provided rolling road blocks to protect the workers from oncoming traffic.

If the pilot program is measured to be successful, the Green Team hopes to implement similar initiatives in all other areas of the county.  If you are interested in learning more about contributing to the Green Team’s effort to reduce litter in Roane County, please contact the Roane Alliance at 376-2093.

The Roane Alliance is Roane County's comprehensive resource in anything and everything concerning businesses, tourism and economic development.  Our mission is to create an environment and a unified voice that promotes job creation, economic development, enhanced quality of life, education and workforce.  To learn more about the Roane Alliance please call 865.376.2093 or visit www.roanealliance.org.