BRIDGETON TOWNSHIP, MI -- When Jerry Carlson launched a kayak on the Muskegon River after spending years away from it, he was shocked at the dump it had become and decided to do something about it.

Just a week after he discovered the mess the popular section of the river had become, Carlson organized about 40 people for a river cleanup that collected 400 pounds of trash, including 2,400 cans and bottles.

That was last year. This year, on July 21, Carlson’s river cleanup was even bigger. An estimated 300 volunteers fished out more than 4,400 beverage cans along with a wide variety of other trash.

“It’s ridiculous, the amount of garbage and beer containers,” Carlson said of the section of river in Newaygo County’s Bridgeton Township between the Bridgeton and Maple Island boat launches.

He wondered what out-of-towners think about the way those in West Michigan treat their rivers.

“There’s a lot of people who come from out of state who float down our river and think they’re floating down a sewer system," he said.

He has plans to make the cleanup an annual event on the third Saturday of each July, and would love to see it extended to rivers throughout the state, and even the nation.

Carlson lives in Muskegon County’s Egelston Township, as do many of the cleanup volunteers. This year’s event included kayak giveaways and a hotdog and hamburger cookout. It was the least Carlson could do for the hardworking men and women who dove into the water and yanked up some pretty disgusting stuff.

“It’s nasty, stinky,” Carlson said.

Rowdy river

When he was young, Carlson said, Muskegon River was his playground.

“Back years ago, I was on that river five times a week,” he said. “We would fish or just go up and down it for something to do.”

HOW TO HELP

Jerry Carlson of Egelston Township has organized the first two Muskegon River cleanups with a cadre of volunteers, but he needs help. Anyone interested in lending a hand or being a sponsor of future cleanups is encouraged to call Carlson at (231) 578-5465.

As he grew older, Carslon, 54, hadn’t spent much time at all on the river. That was until last year when he bought a couple kayaks and took some friends for a float down the river. He was appalled by what he saw.

“It was just a continuous flow of cans,” he said. “You’d look down into the water and see cans.”

The section of river is a popular spot for people who like to float along in kayaks, canoes and inner tubes, many of whom bring alcoholic beverages along. Residents have complained about drunkenness and even nudity, and several years ago, the Newaygo County Sheriff's Department stepped up marine patrols to address rowdy behavior.

Carlson said that even as volunteers were hauling trash out of the river, they were harrassed by passers-by drinking as they floated past.

“We had people float by us … and there’s beer cans floating right with them,” he said. When the volunteers asked them to pick up the cans, “they just said ‘F you,’” Carlson said.

Helping hands

The photos of the July 21 cleanup, taken by Carlson’s sister Peggy Dault are remarkable. They show mounds of cans and a pile of shoes, including 85 flip-flops. There are hundreds of volunteers too, who pulled 10 tires, 13 air rafts and even a bowling ball out of the river.

Carlson lined up several sponsors for the cleanup: K.L. Industries, Chet’s Electric, Mike Thompson Home Improvement, United Online Auctions in Fremont and in Muskegon, The Buyer’s Guide, Jozsa Electric, Scent-Lok, Auto Body and Paint Supplies, River Rat Canoe Rental and the Thirsty Thursdays Gang.

The last one is Carlson’s group of friends who “meet on Thursdays and drink and tell lies.”

“Ok, we tell stories,” he said.

Many of the sponsors purchased kayaks that were raffled off to volunteers. Raffle tickets were not purchased but rather obtained in exchange for a bag of garbage hauled out of the river. Volunteers also were treated to a hamburger or a hot dog.

Carlson himself bought three of the 11 kayaks that were given away. He’d like to grow his cleanup effort, including establishing a fund to help support it. But he said he can’t do it all and is looking for help from people with more expertise then he has.

“All I know is I want the river clean, and am willing to do what I can,” he said. “I need people with smarts to help me out.”

Email Lynn Moore at lmoore8@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter: @LynnSMoore