LUMBERTON — Robeson County officials are asking residents to join in the state’s effort to give North Carolina a facelift, beginning with the most obvious blemish: litter.

Lumberton, Fairmont, St. Pauls, Pembroke and Red Springs will provide junk pickup and trash bags during the official, biannual litter sweep, from Saturday to Oct. 3. The statewide event is sponsored by the Department of Transportation.

“People can put bags of stuff — or any sort of litter — out on the curb and the city will pick it up,” said Dencie Lambdin, a member of Lumberton’s Appearance Commission, a group of volunteers that advises city departments on beautification efforts. “Cleaning out storage sheds, cleaning up yards, even paint touch-ups help. Anything to enhance the way properties in the city look.”

In an official proclamation, Gov. Beverly Purdue said she “encourages local governments and communities, civic and professional groups, businesses, churches, schools, families, and individual citizens” to participate in the cleanup that will “increase awareness of the need for cleaner roadsides, emphasize the importance of not littering, and encourage recycling of solid wastes.”

Last year, the Department of Transportation spent $19 million to pick up almost 1 million bags of litter from state highways, and almost 15 million pounds of litter were collected by state departments and volunteer groups. Littering is against state law, and is punishable by a $50 to $250 fine.

According to the department’s year-end report, programs like the litter sweep help keep the cost of litter cleanup down for the state; the Adopt a Highway program — where groups volunteer to keep clean a stretch of highway — saved taxpayers $5.9 million last year.

Robeson County regularly participates in the litter sweep, and Lambdin said the Appearance Commission is encouraging residents to pick up around homes and yards, and is hoping groups and organizations will pledge to clean up streets and other areas.

In Lumberton, civic groups, Boy or Girl Scout troops, or any other groups that want to clean up streets, ditches, or other areas can reserve orange safety vests, gloves, orange trash bags and blue recycling bags at the Lumberton Recreation Department by calling (910) 671-3869.

Groups should be on the lookout for peculiar litter to enter into the Department of Transportation’s Most Unusual Litter contest. Last year, a used body-piercing kit, a Puerto Rican coin, and a hair extension won the top three spots.

Anybody can leave rubble — from lawn trimmings to old lawn equipment — out on the curb for the Public Works Department to pick up at no cost. Lambdin said people with large items should call the department at (910) 671-3851 to make sure trash collectors have enough space for the load.

Fairmont Explorer Coast 1033, a group of men and women affiliated with the Police Department, will kick off Fairmont’s litter sweep on Saturday at 9 a.m. by cleaning up the alleys behind the downtown stores.

“The citizens are welcome to put rubbageable items on the curb and we will make them vanish,” Mayor Charles Kemp said. “It’s a service to the community to help clean up the town. That’s the key: If people have rubbage lying around their homes, they can clean up their homes and improve the appearance of the town.”

Pembroke, St. Pauls, and Red Springs will have orange trash bags available at their respective town halls for people to put trash in for pick-up.

“A better appearance leads to better quality of life,” Lambdin said. “When we look good when we have visitors to see us, it instills a sense of pride in the city.”

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Litter sweep will last from Saturday to Oct. 3. Orange trash bags will be available in Lumberton at the Bill Sapp Recreation Center, and in Pembroke, Fairmont, St. Pauls, and Red Springs at their respective town halls.