Cleanup opportunities this Saturday in Wattsville

By Judith Brown | February 20, 2026 |

A cleanup opportunity is available this Saturday for anyone in the community who would like to join Keep Laurens County Beautiful volunteers and American Legion Post 25 in the Wattsville area of Laurens.

“This is Post 25’s annual cleanup and we partner with them to provide volunteers with supplies and maps with suggested locations to work,” said Courtney Stonell, the director of Keep Laurens County Beautiful. “We will gather at 9 a.m. at Eastside Baptist Church, and I will have the trash bags, safety vests and gloves for all volunteers who can come help until it wraps up at noon.”

Eastside Baptist is located at 355 Conway Ave., Laurens.

Stonell said in past years, many of the cleanup days primarily targeted main thoroughfares into the cities, but neighborhood cleanups like this one are also important.

“Post 25 has adopted this entire area, so people in the neighborhood around Conway or Choctaw and Sumter streets I’m sure have gotten used to seeing the Post 25 members helping on a regular basis,” she said. “So the hope is when we have a lot of volunteers, it shows the community that we do care, and how important these partnerships are.”

Stonell said some volunteers may want to focus on other areas, such as their own neighborhoods, and if so, they can come at 9 a.m. and get the free supplies as well.

In case of rain, Stonell said plenty of cleanups have taken place in chilly weather and light rain.

“Those Post 25 members won’t be canceling,” she said, “so we will be there with supplies rain or shine.”

The supplies are available to the county through grant funds by Palmetto Pride, the anti-litter agency of South Carolina and the umbrella agency for the Keep America Beautiful affiliates, of which Laurens County is a part.

Another cleanup event is soon to follow as Keep Laurens County Beautiful will be partnering with Keep Greenwood County Beautiful and Greenwood County for the Lake Greenwood Cleanup, set for March 14, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, along the roadways near Lake Greenwood.