Call it an obsession, but Denise King has a knack for noticing every blemish in her neighborhood — be it stray trash, discarded furniture, abandoned cars, piles of dead leaves or fresh graffiti.
“The City of Asheville hires workers to pick up trash in downtown Asheville,” King notes, “but I’ve noticed that what’s often missing from their schedules are the outlining areas, such as my East End neighborhood.”
That’s where King steps in.
She often can be seen strolling the streets with her dog, Bert, and a plastic bag in hand for quick cleanups.
But last month, King went on strike — albeit briefly.
“I saw freshly discarded trash and I thought, ‘I’m not picking that up this time,’” she remarks.
However, when King noticed the same food container still lying on the sidewalk the following morning, she relented.
“I just can’t help myself,” she says with a laugh. “So much for going on strike.”
Before King and her husband, Dan, relocated to Asheville in 2017, she spent 23 years running a landscape design business in Ipswich, Mass. This, along with a dual career in interior design, has made beauty, tidiness and cleanliness a priority throughout her life.
Over the previous two years, King notes that she’s filed 74 reports via the Asheville App, which allows residents to submit issues to the city for matters such as waterline leaks, potholes and illegal dumping.
“Bert and I often take different routes when we walk,” she says. “I’ve even parked my car along stretches of nearby streets and swept up piles of dead leaves, then placed them in large paper bags and left them for the city to pick up.”
King has advocated for trash bins at her neighborhood’s bus stops. “When there’s no place to throw things away, the ground can become the trash can,” she says.
During a 2023 visit to New Zealand, King says she was astonished by the country’s pristine streets. “I even asked our cabdriver if the city had workers dedicated to cleaning up sidewalk litter,” she recalls. “He looked surprised by my question and explained that people simply don’t throw their trash on the ground.”
In addition to keeping her neighborhood spotless and condo complex brimming with plants and flowers, King regularly volunteers with Asheville GreenWorks at local cleanup events.
Before Tropical Storm Helene, she regularly helped plant and maintain the garden beds around Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, which was destroyed by flooding.
“I feel good helping to keep our streets clean,” she says. “It’s a positive contribution to my community and a boost for my mental well-being. Plus, having just turned 74, it sure is a great way to stay active.”
