Rivers Alive Cleanup at 121 Landing

This past Saturday, I led a Rivers Alive cleanup at the Satilla River’s 121 boat ramp in Pierce County, Georgia. I along with my family and Mr. Steve filled up half a dumpster with trash from the river bank and around the landing. We found all kinds of trash from forks to shoes to lottery tickets.

This boat ramp hadn’t been cleaned up in quite some time, so it was pretty surprising that we didn’t find many tires or illegal dumping. Not to say there wasn’t any (my mom found a toilet), but it was not as bad as it has been in the past. However, we did find an increased number of plastic bottles and cans. All together, we picked up three large bags of aluminum cans that I will recycle for money for the Caretta Research Project. This is more than we’ve ever had at a cleanup before. Recently, a new store opened up a few miles down the road from the boat ramp, which may make it easier for people to get drinks and snacks before going to the river. Unfortunately, a lot of that trash doesn’t leave with them. We should all practice the “leave no trace” rule – if you bring it to the river, make sure you take it out with you when you leave!

Thanks to Mr. Jason and the county, we were able to get a Republic Services dumpster delivered to the site. It was really nice to have the trash picked up, and we noticed that other people were even using the dumpster before we got there. If people had a proper way to dispose of their trash at boat ramps, maybe with dumpsters like this, would these areas be less littered? This is something I hope to talk more about and pursue in the future.

In summary, it was a really productive clean up. We were a small group, but we made a big impact! Just look at what we did (video courtesy of my sister)…

It was great to get out and do this service for the community. I hope it inspires you to participate in a local clean up in your area.