From NewsChannel 9: The Tennessee River system has 23,229 lbs. of trash less in it thanks to 115 volunteers and dozens of partners who stepped up
From NewsChannel 9: The Tennessee River system has 23,229 lbs. of trash less in it thanks to 115 volunteers and dozens of partners who stepped up for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s 4th annual ‘Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO.’ The series was held in four states during March and April.
“At one point, our boats were in the waters of four states in less than 24 hours, so this series really showcases how—regardless of state or county lines—we’re all impacted by our river and everything in it,” said Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB). “The encouraging part is that we’re seeing a true difference that our volunteers have made over the years as we’re having to work harder to find litter in areas where we’ve held previous cleanups.”
Throughout the series, volunteers rode on KTNRB’s two 26-foot work boats and three 30-foot work boats brought in by the national nonprofit Living Lands & Waters (LL&W) to go clean shorelines. Gibi said LL&W’s assistance bolstered the efforts to maximize the cleanups’ results:
2023 Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series Results
- March 10 Iuka, Miss/Waterloo, Ala./Counce, Tenn. @ Pickwick Lake | 3,230 lbs. removed by 17 volunteers
- March 11 Murray, Ky./Buchanan, Tenn. @ Kentucky Lake | 6,806 lbs. removed by 18 volunteers
- April 1 Bean Station, Tenn. @ Cherokee Lake | 9,219 lbs. removed by 63 volunteers
- April 2 Jasper, Tenn. @ Nickajack Lake | 3,974 lbs. removed by 17 volunteers
SERIES TOTAL: 23,229 lbs. removed
As impressive as these statistics are, Gibi said weather actually kept the numbers from being even higher. On Cherokee Lake, 67 volunteers made a massive dent in riverside litter, removing over 9,000 lbs. of trash, but the cleanup was cut short after only 1.5 hours due to extreme winds. On the other hand, Gibi said they had to travel further and had less litter to collect on Pickwick Lake after hosting multiple cleanups in the area over the last few years.
“AFTCO is proud to be able to make a positive impact on the Tennessee River with the help of 100+ amazing volunteers and partners to keep the momentum going with the remainder of the Grand Slam Cleanup Series,” said Casey Shedd, President at AFTCO.
The cleanup series was also made possible by funding from Tennessee Valley Authority and TDOT’s ‘Nobody Trashes Tennessee’ litter prevention campaign. It also took place during Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup. Through this far-reaching annual effort, Keep America Beautiful local affiliates host.
cleanups in more than 20,000 communities, engaging over five million volunteers during the months of March and April.
To see a full list of Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s upcoming cleanup schedule, please visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups. To see AFTCO’s web site, please visit www.aftco.com.
Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful is the 1st Keep America Beautiful affiliate in the nation to focus solely on a river. The 501c3 nonprofit aims to rally communities along the river and its tributaries to preserve, improve and protect the river for generations to come. Since forming in 2016, over 3,000 volunteers have helped the organization to remove over
