CURB APPEAL

Hatteras Plawkers keep Tri-Villages’ streets looking sharp.

Diane Hailey (right) gets a hand from Mags Baack on Aug. 27, 2024. (Photo by Corinne Saunders)

By Corinne Saunders

Edited by Matt Walker

Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the spring issue (Issue 14.1) of Outer Banks Milepost, currently on newsstands; find a list of distribution points by clicking here: https://www.outerbanksmilepost.com/outposts/.

On a late summer evening, three young men stroll the shoulder of N.C. 12. As the sun sets over the Pamlico Sound, they stop to admire the view, and one even snaps a photo on his camera before they pick up the pace — and another piece of litter.

“There’s not much to do out here,” says 23-year-old temporary Waves resident Landen Saunders. “I mean, it’s really a watersports town — kiting or surfing. So it’s nice to, you know, walk and pick up trash with your friends and talk and enjoy the beautiful weather.”

Or, as some people call it: “Plawking.”

The term is spinoff of “plogging,” which — according to Merriam-Webster — is a concept that originated in Sweden around 2016 and is “a portmanteau of the Swedish term plocka upp, meaning ‘to pick up,’ and English ‘jogging.’”

Since then, the idea has slowly swept America, where organized groups use social media to drive regular pick-ups from San Jose to southwestern Virginia to — now — Hatteras Island.

“My friend in Roanoke [Virginia] started a plawking group four years ago,” says Diane Hailey, 54, who launched Hatteras Plawkers after moving from Roanoke to Waves. “I wanted to plawk, but I ran a bed and breakfast, so I never could.”

So, last spring, she posted a Hatteras Plawkers Instagram page and put out the word. She started with a couple of April pick-ups around the Tri-Villages — and by August a crew of dedicated do-gooders was gathering every Sunday at some local meeting point, from the community center to REAL Watersports to The Blue Whale.

On this particular day, a handful of men and women hunt-and-peck the pavement in Waves, collecting about 10 pounds of trash between REAL Watersports and Dollar General. When a passing car honks, all seven wave back. That’s fewer than Roanoke’s larger year-round population would provide, but Hailey says her tighter crew works wonders.

“It only really takes five to six people to clean up about a half-mile of sidewalk in 45 minutes,” she says. “And more people — it can get more social. I like a little bit of a smaller group because everybody kind of stays focused.”

She also boasts a more youthful demographic. Where most “litter groups” skew older, much of her cohort consists of teenagers and twenty-somethings — active kiteboarders and surfers who are energized to help out.

“They live on Hatteras Island to work and have fun,” she notes. “So they see it as giving back to the island they love.”

But by the same token, she notes that, “if the wind is too good, the group tends to dwindle.”

Then again, if the wind’s calm — or the waves are flat — there’s not much else for folks to do. That’s when you can’t keep these same nature lovers away.

“It’s nice to have something scheduled in the week,” says 20-year-old Mags Baack, who came here to kiteboard after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. “And also just do something as a group; and it’s nice to go on a walk and pick up trash.”

It also offers a way for newer arrivals to connect.

Saunders moved here this summer from San Diego to work as a surf coach — he’s since plawked 10 times, and says people have been “super friendly and welcoming.”

Fellow plawker Seth Shepherd totally agrees.

“It’s fun to be around everybody,” says the 24-year-old, who lives in West Virginia but is working the summer in Waves.

Part of the fun is just the random discoveries. Cig butts and plastic are constant nuisance, of course. Not to mention the occasional tire. And other pieces of tread.

“Usually you find a shoe somewhere,” says regular participant Jennifer Gardner. “There's always a shoe.”

The 54-year-old Richmond resident has a second home in Salvo, so she can’t make every plawk. But she always helps out when she’s down. And there’s always something to pick up, largely due to the regular flooding.

“It’s a constant struggle to keep it clean,” she says. “I really don’t think that people are throwing that much trash out, hopefully…but I think a lot of times, things wash in because they have been underwater for a while or floating around.”

It’s dirty work, so Hailey provides grabbers, which can reach into ditches when need arises.

“They’re very handy and keep everyone’s hands clean.”

She sends special thanks to Dare County Public Works — which donated trash bags to help her keep her costs down — and all the local businesses that let them park. And while people appreciate the work, she says many still wonder why she doesn’t do beach cleanups instead.

“Most days I go to the beach, I’ll see someone picking up trash on their walk,” Hailey responds. “I’ve never seen anyone walking alone down the NC12 sidewalk with a bucket, picking up trash. And, not everyone who lives or visits here goes to the beach, but everyone drives down NC12.”

This winter, Hailey’s off to the Virgin Islands to work as a tour guide and deck hand at a marina. As a result, there’s only one scheduled plawk left [in 2024] — the last Sunday of November. After that, they’ll resume in April. But that doesn’t mean Hatteras Islanders need to stop picking up.

“I will gladly hand over the grabbers and bags to someone willing to brave the elements,” Hailey says. “Otherwise, I’ll be back in Waves in March to enjoy another Hatteras Island summer!”

Want to keep tabs on future clean-ups? Follow hatteras_plawkers on Instagram.

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