40 Shopping Carts Pulled from Little Hunting Creek
Community Volunteers Remove (Wait for It) Dozens of Shopping Carts and over 60 Bags Of Trash
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Can’t find a shopping cart? No, they’re not in the far corner of the parking lot. They’ve been hiding in Little Hunting Creek.
That’s just part of the haul found during Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell and Virginia Delegate Paul Krizek’s annual Little Hunting Creek Cleanup, hosted in partnership with Friends of Little Hunting Creek. Over 45 volunteers from the Hybla Valley area showed up to help.
Cleanup efforts focused on the Janna Lee Avenue Bridge, Grackle Court, and the Mount Vernon Shopping Plaza, where volunteers collected an estimated 60 bags of trash and removed nearly 40 abandoned shopping carts from the stream.
Participants—including staff from the office of Supervisor Rodney Lusk—worked together to remove a wide range of debris, including plastic bags, water bottles, Styrofoam containers, and beverage cans.
Unusual Items Recovered from the Creek
In addition to shopping carts—primarily from Costco, Home Depot, Aldi, Shoppers Food Warehouse, and Walmart—volunteers pulled several large and unexpected items from the creek, including:
- A tire
- A scooter
- A television
- A rubber costume mask
- A wheelbarrow
- A cooler
- Large lengths of plastic duct hosing
- A garden hose
Ongoing Challenges for Little Hunting Creek
Once labeled “Fairfax County’s Trashiest Stream” in 2007, Little Hunting Creek continues to face significant challenges from illegal dumping. Debris clogs the waterway, obstructing natural flow and harming the local environment.
Organizers noted a continued and growing issue with abandoned shopping carts in and around the creek. They expressed concern that several nearby retailers have not implemented effective cart control measures to prevent removal from store properties.
Since 2011, Senator Surovell and volunteers have removed approximately 300 shopping carts and 275 tires from Little Hunting Creek through these annual cleanups.
Community Effort Drives Progress
The success of the cleanup is made possible by dedicated community volunteers, including students from South County High School who participated this year.
Organizers also recognized Walmart for installing a shopping cart control system that has significantly reduced the number of its carts found in the creek, while noting that carts from other retailers continue to appear annually.
