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Volunteers Pick Up 15,700 Pounds Of Trash From The Tennessee River In 2 Days

March 29, 2021

In January, we shared a good news story about a small group of volunteers removing nearly 10,000 pounds of trash from the Tennessee River in three days.

Last weekend, volunteers removed nearly 16,000 pounds of trash in just two days.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful

Volunteers with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, a nonprofit whose mission is to keep the Tennessee River clean and healthy, picked up around 15,700 pounds of trash from two cleanup events in East Tennessee.

On Saturday, March 20, a total of 41 volunteers in Roane County removed 9,426 lbs of trash from Watts Bar Lake. They ended up filling 248 bags of trash.

Then, on March 21, 17 volunteers removed 6,286 lbs of trash in the Knoxville and Louisville areas. They filled 154 bags of trash.

"We are blown away by the ever-increasing enthusiasm and momentum around river cleanup efforts in diverse communities in the Tennessee River watershed," said Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful. "The energy is seen in the numbers, like the phenomenal achievements our volunteers made this weekend."