Surf City woman takes action to label waste bins around town

SURF CITY, NC (WWAY) — A recent change in trash and recycling vendors for Surf City has caused a little confusion for residents and tourists on how to dispose of their waste.

Patty Gilbride noticed that bins are color coded, but not labeled, which is why glass bottles often end up in the trash, and last night’s leftovers end up in the recycling.

In addition, people sometimes put personal trash in public cans, which is illegal.

Gilbride volunteered to mark all public bins around the city.

The town was very receptive and gave her the stickers.

She does this on her own time, and she thinks it’ll make a big difference.

“My ultimate goal is to see Surf City — if not all of Topsail Island, but I live in Surf City — to see the beach become carry in carry out,” Gilbride explained. “I do a fair amount of camping and hiking state and national parks I think carry in carry out is the way to go.”

Gilbride has taken care of more than half of the city’s cans so far, and she’s not slowing down. Friday’s stop was Soundside Park.