CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than 75 volunteers are expected to help pick up trash along the Kanawha River this weekend.
The 33rd annual Great Kanawha River Cleanup, sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Protection, gets underway at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Cleanup sites include Winfield Beach, St. Albans Roadside Park, the South Charleston boat ramp, and Kanawha Falls at Glen Ferris. Other cleanup sites could be added.
The DEP’s Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan (REAP) will supply bags and gloves for volunteers and will arrange for trash to be hauled away. Chris Cartwright, coordinator of the DEP’s REAP Make It Shine Program, said they picked up about 1.5 tons of trash last year and they’re hoping to do the same or more this year.
“It varies wildly from year to year as far as how much litter we’re going to get. It basically depends on what Mother Nature does whether or not the river has been up and how much material has been carried in,” he said.
Cartwright said there’s little concern about trash left behind from the Aug. 28 flood in eastern Kanawha County because the event was very localized.
“We didn’t see a whole lot of that trash make the river,” he said. “We do have some folks that are working up that way in the Marmet area that are going to be doing some things along the banks, but I don’t anticipate it making the numbers go crazy.”
The type of litter that is picked up varies, Cartwright said.
“What we’re finding now is typical stream litter: bottles, can, plastics, a few tires here and there, but there’s not the big stuff on the river like their used to be,” he said.
The REAP program, created in 2005, strives to clean up West Virginia. Cartwright said it’s easier to live and work in an region that’s clean, but everyone needs to do their part.
“I tell people all the time that if everybody picks up a piece of litter a day, we’d be in much better shape than what we are now,” he said.
The program is meant to encourage residents to take ownership of their communities by providing technical, financial and resource assistance in cleanup and recycling efforts.
“A big part of it also is drawing some attention to the problem of stream littering and doing some education work with these youngers kids and let them know what the problem is and how to solve it,” Cartwright said.
Those wishing to volunteer for this year’s cleanup are urged to register with the DEP so enough supplies can be obtained for each cleanup location.
For more information visit the DEP’s REAP webpage.