Environmental group Tennessee Riverkeeper says it has picked up nearly 10,000 pounds of litter during several volunteer cleanup days the group has organized this year on tributaries of the Tennessee River.

The most recent cleanup day was held Saturday along the banks of Aldridge Creek in Huntsville. Tennessee Riverkeeper founder and executive director David Whiteside said more than 20 volunteers collected approximately 965 pounds of aquatic litter from Aldridge Creek and its tributaries Saturday, including 24 bags of trash, four bags of recyclables, an LSU Tiger golf bag, a wooden bench, and various other large, bulky items.

The group has hosted similar cleanups in Decatur, and other tributaries in areas that tend to be “collection zones,” where litter from roadways or other locations washes away during rainstorms.

“In 2019, Riverkeeper has prevented over 9,850 pounds of litter from entering the Tennessee River," Whiteside said. “These events show that a few people can make a difference, and cleanups provide some hope for hundreds of thousands of citizens who are concerned about our blessed river and its tributaries.”

"Clean water is a nonpartisan issue; we are all in this together.”

In addition to industrial contamination from PFAS chemicals and sewer overflow issues, the Tennessee River has been shown to have high levels of microplastics, tiny pieces of plastics, less than five millimeters in length, created as larger plastic litter breaks down over time.

Tests have shown that almost half of the 18,000 pieces of microplastics per cubic meter of water found in the Tennessee River are polyethylene, frequently used to make plastic bags.

One way to combat the microplastics issue is to remove plastic litter before it breaks down.

“There is no easy solution to this problem," Whiteside said. "We do know that preventing plastics from entering waterways is an obvious solution and it is easier to remove garbage from the shorelines and shallow water of creeks and rivers. It is very difficult and inefficient to try to remove litter from deeper water.

"Another important solution is education and informing citizens that littering not only makes our community look trashy, it also impairs fishing and water quality.”