A total of 85 miles of New River waterways were swept clean of debris on Sept. 15 as over 300 individuals assisted with the New River Big Sweep. Volunteers pulled glass and plastic bottles, styrofoam pieces, scrap metal, numerous tires and several appliances out of the New River.
Overall, the items removed weighed 12.6 tons and were removed from 25 assorted stretches along the South Fork, North Fork and main stem of the New in Alleghany, Ashe and Watauga counties.
Nearly half the weight of items removed from the rivers and streams included the 377 tires of all sizes that were taken from the waterways. The tires will be recycled.
Unusual finds during this year's New River Big Sweep included a water heater, a washing machine, a lawn mower engine, a rusty radiator, truck wheels and various other car parts, a metal I-beam, several rugs, lawn chairs, vinyl siding, basketballs, tennis balls and golf balls, hats and high-heeled shoes, an old metal cart, a cast iron planter and a full bottle of unopened whiskey.
The cleanup of the New was part of a statewide effort to remove trash from North Carolina's coastal and inland waterways, which is organized as a branch of the International Coastal Cleanup Day that takes place every third Saturday in September.
Cumulatively, more than three million people in over 100 countries have participated in the cleanup since it became an international event in 1989.
The National Committee for the New River organizes the New River Big Sweep each year.
"We couldn't do it without the efforts of so many individuals in the community," said NCNR's Project Coordinator Debi Golembieski.
|
Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back |