BRANDON, S.D. (KELO) — Fourth of July fireworks bring fun, but they can also bring a mess to clean up.
Every year, Steve Butterfield puts on a fireworks show for his family and friends.
“We spent about an hour and a half last night sweeping the driveway up everything,” Butterfield said. “The garbage man was just here and picked up a pile of everything that was left as far as all the big stuff.”
Luckily, Butterfield isn’t alone when it comes to picking things up. His grandkids know that the cleaning up part is just as important as the celebration. 12-year-old Aidric Ness got an early start this morning.
“If there’s trash everywhere, that’s kind of bad for the environment. And also, animals can eat it and think it’s food and they could get hurt,” Ness said.
Butterfield said they spent about $1,500 on fireworks this year.
“We try and get as clean as we can. Once in a while, we miss a little, but it’s kind of hard not to with the wind and stuff. It starts blowing stuff around, so you can’t get all of it,” Butterfield said.
But the wind is no match for Ness. He said the clean-up process is simple.
“You just grab it, throw it away in a big trash bag and go look for more garbage and put it in the trash can,” Ness said.
Experts remind people to make sure their fireworks have cooled before throwing them away.
