(WHNT) — Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) is looking for volunteers to help with four cleanups beginning in October, in an effort to surpass a record 600,000 pounds of trash removed since its forming.
Two of those cleanups will take place in Alabama.
October is celebrated as ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month presented by the Tennessee Valley Authority.’ Beginning on October 14, KTNRB has four more cleanups planned to try and reach their goal.
The nonprofit was formed in 2016, cleaning up a little over 10,000 pounds of trash a year until they introduced a boat in 2019. Since then, KTNRB said its annual trash totals have grown substantially.
Now, it has two boats in action to help with cleanup efforts and as a result has already set a new record in 2023 with 153,909 pounds of trash removed so far this year.
“Volunteers will be taken out on five 30-foot john boats to clean shorelines identified with large deposits of litter. Each of the four cleanups will take place in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama within the Tennessee River watershed,” the nonprofit shared.
- Saturday, Oct. 14 – New Tazewell, Tenn. | Norris Lake
- Sunday, Oct.15 – Bean Station, Tenn. | Cherokee Lake
- Saturday, Oct. 28 – Counce, Tenn./ Iuka, Miss./ Waterloo, Ala. | Pickwick Lake
- Saturday, Oct. 29 – Decatur, Ala. | Wheeler Lake
According to a news release from the nonprofit, governors and mayors across the Tennessee River watershed will make proclamations. It also asked its network of nearly 200 river mile adoptees to host their own river cleanups during the month of October.
To register for any of the cleanup dates, you can visit the KTNRB website. If you’re unable to make any of the cleanup dates, you can still help by taking a pledge in KTNRB’s #Pledge4Rivers campaign.
