For those of us who were around in the 1970s, you might remember the iconic public service announcement in which Iron Eyes Cody shed a tear over the pollution that had begun to engulf the country. Although our country has come a long way since, the battle against litter and pollution continues at America’s Shipyard today.

“It would be nice if no one littered,” said Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Code 900.11 Temporary Facilities Branch Head Jeffrey Saniano. “Although we’ve taken some strides with cleaning and beautifying the shipyard, we can do better.”

Over the last few years, Code 900F, has taken on projects where cleaning and beautifying different areas of the shipyard.

At NNSY the wind is a major culprit in spreading trash around. This is why it’s important to ensure your trash and recyclables are disposed of properly.

“If we don’t take care of our garbage properly, the wind can blow it in areas where someone can trip over it and injure themselves,” said Saniano. “It can also spread trash into the Elizabeth River.”

There are ways to ensure that trash doesn’t end up where it doesn’t belong.

“If each person picked up one piece of trash every day and disposed of it in the proper receptacle, it would improve the cleanliness of the shipyard massively,” said Patel. “It’s everyone’s responsibility to help keep the shipyard clean from the highest paygrade down to the lowest paygrade.”

Having a litter-free shipyard, however, does more than just keep workers safe and keep trash from going into the Elizabeth River or the streets.

“Coming to a clean workplace give you a sense of pride,” said Saniano. “It raises morale, which in return, helps the workers to give a little extra in their duties and responsibilities.”

Back in the 1970s, another icon was formed to fight pollution: Woodsy Owl. Remember the one thing that Woodsy Owl said when he saw a piece of trash where it doesn’t belong, “Give a hoot; don’t pollute!”

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