Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful Receives Its 3rd National Award, This Time for Cigarette Litter Prevention Project with Dollywood

Left to right: KTnRB Executive Director Kathleen Gibi; Keep America Beautiful President & CEO Jennifer Lawson; and KTNRB Programs Manager Kendall Mayers

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTnRB) was recently awarded its 3rd national award since becoming a 501c3 nonprofit in 2018. KTnRB is the recipient of the Keep America Beautiful® 2023 National Innovation Award for its Cigarette Litter Prevention project created in partnership with Dollywood. Winners were announced during the Keep America Beautiful National Conference held in San Diego, Ca. on February 12, 2024.

Since the partnership with Dollywood in 2021, the program has led to plastic getting recycled from more than 500,000 cigarette butts. The project also made Dollywood the 1st theme park in the world to recycle the plastic from every cigarette butt collected in guest-facing receptacles on its property.

Collecting cigarette butts before they’re thrown on the ground at Dollywood saves them from getting washed into the Pigeon River, which runs through the center of the theme park and is a tributary of the Tennessee River.

The Keep America Beautiful Innovation Awards honor affiliates that have developed innovative partnerships and programs to advance the mission of Keep America Beautiful. The awards spotlight true innovation that includes unique ideas and methods that overcome challenges.

Partners involved in the cigarette plastic recycling program at Dollywood pose on a bench made of the plastic recycled from collected cigarette butts and next to one of the receptacles that collect cigarette butts at Dollywood.

“Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful is proud to work with Dollywood on a project that fosters a non-traditional approach to recycling as well as protecting our waterways,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTnRB Executive Director. “Dollywood continues to immerse its efforts in giving back to the community and we’re so grateful to the their staff as well as our collaborating partners who have made this trailblazing initiative possible.”

KTnRB was able to provide Dollywood with 26 art-wrapped cigarette receptacles through a collaboration of grants and sponsorships from Keep America Beautiful, Keep Tennessee Beautiful, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the American Eagle Foundation.

TerraCycle, an international recycling company, covers the cost of shipping the collected cigarette butts to their facility so that the plastic microfibers in the cigarette filters can be recycled into outdoor plastic furniture. Two park benches donated by TerraCycle and made from recycled cigarette plastic are now installed at Dollywood near the theme park’s bald eagle exhibit.

“Congratulations to the KAB affiliates, state agencies and individuals chosen as our 2023 award recipients. Your efforts serve as a testament to leadership and the innovation necessary to create cleaner, greener, and more beautiful communities, revitalizing a sense of pride within communities across the country,” said Jennifer Lawson, President and CEO of Keep America Beautiful.

In addition to working with Dollywood on the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, KTnRB also has over 1,000 art-wrapped cigarette receptacles installed at marinas, campgrounds, and tourism sites in all seven states of the Tennessee River watershed.

This is the project’s 2nd award. In August 2023, the Tennessee Recycling Coalition named KTnRB ‘Nonprofit Recycler of the Year’ for the cigarette plastic recycling project at Dollywood.

For more information about joining Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program or to join litter cleanup efforts on the Tennessee River watershed, please visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org.

Oak Ridge Power Squadron Donates $79,200 to River Cleanup Nonprofit, Largest Donation Given to Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful to Date

Left to right: Melinda Watson (TVA representative on KTNRB Board), Veronica O’Hearn (ORPS board), Jack O’Hearn (ORPS Board member and now KTNRB Board member), and Kathleen Gibi (KTNRB Executive Director) at the check presentation of OPRS’ $79,200 donation to KTNRB just before KTNRB crews took volunteers out on a cleanup of Melton Hill Lake.

On Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, representatives from the Oak Ridge Power Squadron presented Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) with a $79,200 check. The donation was the largest that the river cleanup nonprofit has received to date.

“We’re grateful to the Oak Ridge Power Squadron for their commitment to protecting Melton Hill Lake over the years and for the long-lasting impact that their donated dollars will make on the entire seven-state Tennessee River watershed,” said Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for the river cleanup nonprofit that launched its first work boat in 2019.

The Oak Ridge Power Squadron (ORPS) incorporated in 1947 and was the first inland Power Squadron. The original charter was presented March 10, 1947 by the late Captain Hyman Rickover who later became known as the ‘Father of the U.S. Navy Nuclear Program’ and a four-star admiral. 

ORPS is a non-profit educational organization and part of a unit of District 17 of the U.S. Power Squadron now America's Boating Club. The squadron’s mission is to improve maritime safety and enjoyability through classes in seamanship, navigation and other related subjects. 

Through the years the Squadron was able to obtain property for meetings, community events and classes. Upon liquidation, the squadron had an opportunity to become philanthropic and align its mission with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful.

“Between the two entities our hope is to continue safe boating, education and enjoyment of the precious Tennessee River for future generations,” said Jack O’Hearn, a long-time ORPS board member and one of the newest members on the KTNRB Board of Directors.

Immediately following the check presentation, local volunteers boarded KTNRB’s two 26-foot aluminum work boats to participate in a Melton Hill Lake cleanup as the kickoff event of KTNRB’s 2024 river cleanup calendar. Ten volunteers went out on the cleanup and were able to remove 1,758 lbs. of trash in the cleanup.

Volunteers celebrate a full boat of trash they collected on Melton Hill Lake at a cleanup held following the check presentation ceremony.

There’s a new goal for the nonprofit to remove 200,000 lbs. of trash from local waterways this year. In 2023, KTNRB helped to rally nearly 1,000 volunteers to remove over 218,000 lbs. of trash from the Tennessee River watershed.

“We are so grateful to the Oak Ridge Power Squadron for its decades of educational support and sharing its passion of our beloved waters,” said Mark Huber, KTNRB Board President. “Let's draw inspiration from the Oak Ridge Power Squadron’s ageless devotion as we write the next chapter in the Tennessee River's story.”

For more information about Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful or to learn how you can get involved, visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org.

Nonprofit Reaches Milestone of 600,000 lbs. of Trash Removed as Volunteers Collected 25,397 lbs. of Trash from Waterways During Tennessee River Month

Volunteers that came out to clean Wheeler Lake of the Tennessee River in Decatur, Ala. helped to remove 4,017 lbs. of trash, nudging Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful past their 600,000 lb. milestone at the last cleanup during Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month in October.

There’s now nearly 13 tons less trash on the shorelines of local waterways thanks to 107 volunteers who came out to participate in river cleanups to celebrate October’s ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month presented by TVA.’

October’s volunteers also helped Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) cruise right past its milestone of 600,000 lbs. (or 300 tons) of trash removed from the Tennessee River watershed since it became a nonprofit. A Boeing 747, one of the world’s largest planes, weighs 300 tons to give a physical perspective of the weight of trash removed from the Tennessee River watershed. For context of the group’s momentum: KTNRB had removed 47,756 lbs. of trash before putting its first boat in the water in 2019.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful's Kelly Ferguson poses with one of the trash boats that she drove at on the Wheeler Lake cleanup of the Tennessee River in Decatur, Ala. The cleanup was the final stint in Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month presented by TVA.

“We’ve come such a long way in a short window of time, and it’s all thanks to the good people who volunteer their time to protect their waterways by cleaning trash that wasn’t even theirs,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director. “This year has been full of new records broken, and the records belong to those thousands of volunteers who have made a commitment to this precious river system of ours.”

In the 2023 calendar year, KTNRB is now setting a new record with every pound collected. So far this year, 205,603 lbs. of trash have been removed from the Tennessee River watershed by 959 volunteers. Gibi said that the cleanup series during October’s celebrations was a perfect example of volunteers from all walks of life, with the series cleanups taking place within rural settings like the Powell River up in New Tazewell, Tenn., to more industrial settings like Ingalls Harbor in Decatur, Ala.

Volunteers from the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation's Region 2 office came out for a cleanup on Chickamauga Lake of the Tennessee River and cleaned several coves around Harrison Bay State Park, removing 4,847 lbs. of trash.

The cleanup series swept through three states and nine cities with just five events:

Oct.14 New Tazewell, Tenn. Powell River | 6,700 lbs. | 28 volunteers

Oct. 15 Bean Station, Tenn. Cherokee Lake | 4,850 lbs. | 18 volunteers

Oct. 19 Harrison, Tenn. Chickamauga Lake | 4,847 lbs. | 20 volunteers

Oct. 28 Iuka, MS/Counce, TN/Waterloo, AL Pickwick Lake | 4,983 lbs. | 25 volunteers

Oct. 29 Decatur, AL Wheeler Lake | 4,017 lbs. | 16 volunteers

TOTAL 25,397 lbs. | 107 volunteers

Volunteers from the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation's Region 2 office stuck around after the Chickamauga Lake cleanup to help Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful's Kathleen Gibi fill up two full trash boats.

The 6th annual river cleanup series was only part of the celebration. ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month’ was officially proclaimed by governors of the four states touched by the Tennessee River, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as well as Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon and Paris, Tenn. Mayor Kathy Ray.

In addition to TVA’s ongoing sponsorship of the cleanup series, the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee litter prevention campaign and Keep Tennessee Beautiful have consistently funded ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month’ since it launched in 2018. This year’s series consisted of two cleanups held in collaboration with the national nonprofit Living Lands & Waters, who brought three of their 30-foot work boats, and Allegheny CleanWays who brought their 30-foot work boat to supplement KTNRB’s two work boats.

Volunteers load up what turned out to be three boats full of trash during the cleanup on Powell River in New Tazewell, Tenn. to kick off Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month presented by TVA in October.

Gibi said that many local partners made the series a success, including:

Powell River, Tenn.: Bunch Hollow Campground, The Norris Lake Project, and Allegheny CleanWays

Bean Station, Tenn.: Lakeside Marina, Cherokee Lake Users Association, Care N.E.T., Keep Morristown Hamblen Beautiful, and Allegheny CleanWays

Harrison, Tenn.: Harrison Bay State Park, Capital Waste Services of Soddy Daisy, Tennessee Dept. of Transportation Region 2

Counce, TN/Iuka, MS/Waterloo, AL: Grand Harbor Marina, Hardin County Solid Waste, Keep Mississippi Beautiful, Pickwick Parrot Heads, Caterpillar-Reman, Clayton Homes-Savannah, Stryker-MS, Women Who Love Nature – West TN, Living Lands &; Waters

Decatur, AL: Decatur Morgan County Tourism, Decatur Parks & Recreation, TVA, Living Lands & Waters

The national nonprofit Living Lands & Waters came to join two cleanups during Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month. Here, two of the trash boats drive back from collecting trash piles made by volunteers on the Alabama shorelines of Pickwick Lake.

Beyond the cleanup series’ impressive numbers, Gibi said they discovered a cove on Chickamauga Lake that they had cleaned four years prior that had once had chronic litter and was now virtually spotless. She attributed it to a cultural shift since the legacy litter had been removed and ongoing cleanup efforts by their Adopt a River Mile participants as well as river cleanup efforts such as the annual Tennessee River Rescue put on by Waterways.

“That was so encouraging to see at our Chickamauga Lake cleanup this year and we hope to start having that experience more often,” said Gibi. “We’d love to see such a reduction in litter that we work ourselves out of the business of larger river cleanup efforts—and with signs like we saw on Chickamauga Lake, it seems we’re starting to head in that direction!”

Nonprofit Expected to Reach Lifetime 600,000 lbs. of Trash Removed During ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month Presented by TVA’

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) is seeking volunteers for four cleanups beginning October 14, 2023, that will be held in three states during October, which is celebrated as ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month presented by the Tennessee Valley Authority.’ 

The big deal this year: volunteers will be aiming to help KTNRB surpass 600,000 lbs. of trash removed since forming. The nonprofit began in 2016 and was removing a little over 10,000 lbs. of trash a year until introducing its first boat to the water in 2019. Since then, annual trash totals have grown substantially and now with a fleet of two boats, KTNRB has already set a new record in 2023 with 153,909 lbs. 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. 

“This river system is one of the most beautiful and biodiverse rivers in North America, and it’s always inspiring to see how many people come out during this month of celebrating the Tennessee River watershed,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director. “We’re grateful for the continued support from TVA, whose administration challenged us to begin hosting the river celebration that only keeps growing each year!”

The month will also include proclamations from governors and mayors across the Tennessee River watershed and KTNRB challenged its network of nearly 200 river mile adoptees to host their own river cleanups during the month. Additionally, those who are unable to participate in a cleanup can still help protect the Tennessee River by taking a pledge in KTNRB’s #Pledge4Rivers campaign.

“Powerful partnerships, like the one TVA has with KTNRB, help us achieve far more than any of us could ever do individually,” said Rachel Terrell, TVA Manager of Public Outreach & Support. "All those miles of beautiful public lands and waterways belong to all of us. That’s why it’s so important to not only do what we can to keep them clean, but to try to prevent abuse of the land and water, and to educate residents and visitors about the importance of this mission. We work every day to protect the Tennessee River watershed, which supports one of the most biodiverse collections of species in the world.”

RIVER CLEANUP SCHEDULE

KTNRB is partnering once again with Living Lands & Waters (LL&W), a national nonprofit based in Moline, Ill. that cleans North American rivers and who will bring three of their 30-foot aluminum boats to the cleanups on Pickwick and Wheeler lakes, adding to KTNRB’s two boats so that even more volunteers can participate. KTNRB has also contracted Allegheny CleanWays, a river cleanup group in Pittsburgh, Pa. to bring their boat to the cleanups on Norris and Cherokee lakes.

The cleanups during Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month are scheduled as follows:

Saturday, Oct. 14 New Tazwell, TN | Norris Lake
Sunday, Oct.15 Bean Station, TN | Cherokee Lake
Saturday, Oct. 28 Counce, Tenn. | Iuka, Miss.| Waterloo, Ala. | Pickwick Lake
Saturday, Oct. 29 Decatur, Ala. | Wheeler Lake

Volunteers may register for any cleanup at www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups. 

The Tennessee Department of Transportation’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee also helps to support this month of celebration through its litter grant.

HISTORY OF CELEBRATING KTNRWB MONTH

Gibi said that it was the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), that originally challenged KTNRB to celebrate an awareness month for the Tennessee River. The awareness month was launched in the state of Tennessee in 2018 and has now expanded into a seven-state awareness campaign in 2023. 

Dozens of proclamations from governors and mayors within the Tennessee River watershed have been proclaimed over the years. Last year, four governors and four mayors issued proclamations for Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month.

After Living Lands & Waters worked hosted the Tennessee River Tour in 2015, TVA and Keep Tennessee Beautiful (funded by the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation) founded the formation of KTNRB as a nonprofit that would champion support and protection for the 652-mile Tennessee River and its tributaries. Since forming, KTNRB has rallied nearly 4,000 volunteers and is expected to surpass 600,000 lbs. of trash removed from the Tennessee River watershed this October.

As KTRWB Month is celebrated in different states, KTNRB collaborates with affiliates from Keep Tennessee Beautiful, Keep Mississippi Beautiful, and Keep Alabama Beautiful. 

“We love celebrating this month because it brings individuals, groups, organizations, elected officials, and even international companies together in prioritizing our precious river,” said Gibi. “Our slogan is ‘Your River. Your Impact.’ and it’s true—when it comes to our waterways, you get what you give, so it’s inspiring to see so many taking the right steps.”

For more information on Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month presented by TVA, visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/ktnrwb-month. 

Volunteers Remove 6.6 Tons (13,137 lbs) of Trash from Four Rivers in ‘Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series Presented by Oris’

Volunteers help to load a tractor tire on Parksville Lake in Vonore, Tenn. at a cleanup held on Sunday, Feb. 26. A small group of 6 volunteers 1,462 lbs. of trash that day.

A collective 66 volunteers removed 13,137 lbs. of trash from four different rivers in Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s 3rd annual Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series presented by Oris Watches. Since the series began in 2001, a total of 166 volunteers have helped to remove 44,870 lbs. of trash from waterways in the Cherokee National Forest.

The most recent series total has the river cleanup nonprofit staged to surpass its record-breaking year in 2021, in which more than 700 volunteers removed over 152,000 lbs. of trash. So far in 2023, the group has already rallied 725 volunteers to remove 149,320 lbs. of trash from the Tennessee River watershed.

Volunteers helping out on Watauga Lake in Elizabethton, Tenn. pose with one of the five piles of trash that volunteers created on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2023. A total of 24 volunteers helped to remove 4,616 lbs. of trash that day.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) established the Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series to help preserve lakes in the Tennessee’s largest tract of public land, showcasing the vastness of the forest by hosting river cleanups spanning from South Holston Lake in Abingdon, Va. to Parksville Lake near Chattanooga, Tenn.

“The lakes within the Cherokee National Forest are some of the most stunning among the bodies of water in within the Tennessee River watershed and it’s always a privilege to showcase their stunning beauty as well as the need to address litter that has entered their waterways,” said Kathleen Gibi, Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) Executive Director. “We’re so grateful to Oris, additional sponsors and partners, and especially the volunteers for making this series such as success.”

UT student volunteers clean out primarily plastic litter from one of the six shorelines cleaned on Tellico Lake on Sunday, Feb. 19, where 29 volunteers removed 5,509 lbs. of trash.

KTNRB hosted four river cleanups in February and a rainchecked cleanup wrapping up the series on Sunday, Sept. 10, collaborating with local Keep America Beautiful affiliates and local governments:

CHEROKEE NATIONAL FOREST RIVER CLEANUP SERIES RESULTS

• Feb. 5 Elizabethton, TN @ Watauga Lake of the Watauga River | 4,616 lbs. removed by 24 volunteers

• Feb. 19 Vonore, TN @ Tellico Lake of the Little Tennessee River | 5,509 lbs. removed by 29 volunteers

• Feb. 26 Benton, TN @ Parksville Lake of the Ocoee River | 1,462 lbs. removed by 6 volunteers

• Sept. 10 Abingdon, VA @ South Holston Lake on the Holston River | 2,004 lbs. removed by 7 volunteers

• TOTAL: 13,137 lbs. removed by 66 volunteers

A small group of 6 volunteers 1,462 lbs. of trash on Parksville Lake on Sunday, Feb. 26, as part of the Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series presented by Oris.

The 66 volunteers had other harrowing statistics from their efforts, including a total of 369 bags of trash and 32 tires removed.

“Oris was thrilled to partner with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful for four cleanup events throughout 2023,” said V.J. Geronimo, Oris CEO – The Americas. “Working with dedicated volunteers and Oris enthusiasts to clean up nearly five tons of trash was enriching and most of all, impactful. Looking forward to continuing our collaboration as part of our Change For The Better program.”

A group of volunteers celebrate one of the piles of trash they collected to help beautify and protect South Holston Lake in Abningdon, Va. in the final cleanup of the Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series presented by Oris.

This year’s series was also boosted with help from staff from Allegheny CleanWays, a nonprofit that hosts river cleanup efforts on the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania. The organization’s Capt. Evan Clark drove KTNRB’s second 26-foot boat at the cleanups held on Watauga and Tellico lakes to accommodate the larger group of volunteers.

Additional partners like Keep Cleveland & Bradley County Beautiful, Keep Carter County Beautiful, Keep Jonesborough Beautiful, and Keep Southwest Virginia Beautiful all played a huge role in organizational details, recruiting, and participation. Monroe County Government, Waste Connections of Tennessee –Cleveland Hauling, Carter County Solid Waste, and Budget Dumpster all donated dumpster services for the trash to be hauled away from each cleanup.

The series was largely made possible by funding received from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation’s ‘Nobody Trashes Tennessee’ litter campaign.

KTNRB plans to host its 4th annual Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series in 2024. For more information about KTNRB’s schedule, please visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups.

Capt. Evan Clark drives KTNRB's boat as he and Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director, round up the trash piles that volunteers collected on Tellico Lake.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful Receives State Recycling Award for Cigarette Litter Prevention Project with Dollywood

The Tennessee Recycling Coalition presented its ‘2023 Nonprofit Recycler of the Year Award’ to Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful at their annual conference held in Gatlinburg, Tenn. in August.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Amber Greene, Executive Director of the Tennessee Recycling Coalition; Edmond McDavis, Executive Director for the Tennessee Delta Alliance (who worked on the project when he was with Keep Tennessee Beautiful); Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director of Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful; Monica Kizer, Communications Director at Keep Tennessee Beautiful, and Lincoln Young, President of the Tennessee Recycling Coalition

Bobby Johnson, Grounds Manager at Dollywood and implementer of the theme park’s Cigarette Recycling Program, poses with Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, both holding the awards recently awarded by the Tennessee Recycling Coalition.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) was just named ‘2023 Nonprofit Recycler of the Year’ by the Tennessee Recycling Coalition for its cigarette litter prevention partnership with Dollywood. Since the project launched at Dollywood in 2021, the program has led to the plastic getting recycled from approximately 350,000 cigarette butts.

The project also made Dollywood the first theme park in the world to recycle the plastic from every cigarette butt collected in guest-facing receptacles on its property.

“We’re so proud of this honor, more than anything because of the commitment from Dollywood and the other supporting partners who worked to ensure that this trailblazing collaboration would protect the Tennessee River watershed from the harmful effects cigarette litter,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director. “Taking the effort to the next step of recycling the plastic from otherwise discarded cigarette waste makes it all the more impactful and is yet the latest example of Dollywood’s reputation of working toward the greater good.”

KTNRB was able to provide Dollywood with 26 art-wrapped cigarette receptacles through a collaboration of grants and sponsorships from Keep America Beautiful, Keep Tennessee Beautiful, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the American Eagle Foundation.

There are 16 standing cigarette receptacles available for public use within the Dollywood theme park in addition to the ten receptacles available to employees behind the scenes. Pictured in this photo are the standing receptacles just before they were installed at the designated smoking areas throughout Dollywood.

A box of cigarette butts collected at Dollywood before they were shipped to Terracycle to be recycled.

TerraCycle, an international recycling company, covers the cost of shipping the collected cigarette butts to their facility so that the plastic microfibers in the cigarette filters can be recycled into outdoor plastic furniture. Two park benches donated by TerraCycle and made from the recycled cigarette plastic are now installed at Dollywood near the theme park’s bald eagle exhibit.

In addition to working with Dollywood on the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, KTNRB also has 800 art-wrapped cigarette receptacles installed at marinas, campgrounds, and tourism sites in all seven states of the Tennessee River watershed.

For more information about joining Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program or to join litter cleanup efforts on the Tennessee River watershed, please visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org.

The Pigeon River is part of the Tennessee River watershed and runs through the center of Dollywood.

Volunteers Remove Over 23,000 lbs. of Trash During Four-State River Cleanup Series

A group of volunteers stand proudly with one of the many piles of trash they collected on Kentucky Lake in a bay that was affected by tornados and flooding over the last few years. Their efforts resulted in two very full trash boats that totaled at 6,806 lbs. of trash collected.

Volunteers prepare to head out after filling a trash boat carrying a total of 3,230 lbs. of trash collected at the cleanup held on Pickwick Lake.

The Tennessee River system has  23,229 lbs. of trash less in it thanks to 115 volunteers and dozens of partners who stepped up for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s 4th annual ‘Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO.’ The series was held in four states during March and April.

“At one point, our boats were in the waters of four states in less than 24 hours, so this series really showcases how—regardless of state or county lines—we’re all impacted by our river and everything in it,” said Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB). “The encouraging part is that we’re seeing a true difference that our volunteers have made over the years as we’re having to work harder to find litter in areas where we’ve held previous cleanups.”

Phillip Toon, a regular volunteer with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, helps the crew from Living Lands & Waters load up the trash onto KTNRB's boat on Kentucky Lake.

Throughout the series, volunteers rode on KTNRB’s two 26-foot work boats and three 30-foot work boats brought in by the national nonprofit Living Lands & Waters (LL&W) to go clean shorelines. Gibi said LL&W’s assistance bolstered the efforts to maximize the cleanups’ results:

Volunteers filled up three boats on Cherokee Lake in the 3rd stint of the Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO. Here, volunteers have loaded into a boat with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful Executive Director Kathleen Gibi as boat captain.

2023 Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series Results

·        March 10  Iuka, Miss/Waterloo, Ala./Counce, Tenn. @ Pickwick Lake | 3,230 lbs. removed
by 17 volunteers

·        March 11  Murray, Ky./Buchanan, Tenn. @ Kentucky Lake | 6,806 lbs. removed
by 18 volunteers

·        April 1  Bean Station, Tenn. @ Cherokee Lake | 9,219 lbs. removed by 63 volunteers 

·        April 2  Jasper, Tenn. @ Nickajack Lake | 3,974 lbs. removed by 17 volunteers

SERIES TOTAL: 23,229 lbs. removed

As impressive as these statistics are, Gibi said weather actually kept the numbers from being even higher. On Cherokee Lake, 67 volunteers made a massive dent in riverside litter, removing over 9,000 lbs. of trash, but the cleanup was cut short after only 1.5 hours due to extreme winds. On the other hand, Gibi said they had to travel further and had less litter to collect on Pickwick Lake after hosting multiple cleanups in the area over the last few years.

Though the cleanup on Cherokee Lake was ended after only 1.5 hours due to high winds, volunteers managed to collect 9,219 lbs. of trash. That total included 282 bags of trash, 89 tires, 3 semi tires, an ATV, and much more.

“AFTCO is proud to be able to make a positive impact on the Tennessee River with the help of 100+ amazing volunteers and partners to keep the momentum going with the remainder of the Grand Slam Cleanup Series,” said Casey Shedd, President at AFTCO.

Some of the volunteers from the Nickajack Lake cleanup, the last of the Grand Slam Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO, pose with one of the two trash boats that were completely filled, resulting in 3,794 lbs. of trash removed.

The cleanup series was also made possible by funding from Tennessee Valley Authority and TDOT’s ‘Nobody Trashes Tennessee’ litter prevention campaign. It also took place during Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup©. Through this far-reaching annual effort, Keep America Beautiful local affiliates host cleanups in more than 20,000 communities, engaging over five million volunteers during the months of March and April.

To see a full list of Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s upcoming cleanup schedule, please visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups. To see AFTCO’s web site, please visit www.aftco.com.

Volunteers clean the shorelines of Nickajack Lake in Jasper, Tenn. during the final cleanup of the Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO.

March 10 Kickoff: ‘Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series Presented by Aftco’

Volunteers with one of the trash boats at the Kentucky Lake - Paris, Tenn. cleanup during the 2022 Grand Slam River Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO.

Volunteers participating in the 2022 Grand Slam River Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO clean the shorelines of the Tennessee River in Waverly, Tenn. where the nearby Trace Creek had recently suffered deadly flooding.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) will kick off the ‘Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO,’ bringing four major cleanups held within four states. In fact, KTNRB’s boats will be cleaning in all four states touched by the Tennessee River at the first two consecutive days of the series.

“The fact that we’ll be able to serve four states within our first two cleanups is a testament to how directly this river connects our communities and how litter in one county actually impacts us all,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director. “We’re grateful to our volunteers, our partners, and sponsors like AFTCO, TVA, and TDOT who are giving back to this river community through our Grand Slam River Cleanup Series.”

The river cleanup campaign is sponsored by AFTCO (The American Fishing Tackle Company), an outdoor apparel and fishing tackle company that has both sponsored the series and equipped the KTNRB staff with seasonal fishing apparel to stay clean, dry, and comfortable at cleanups through any weather.

Here’s the schedule for the Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup:

Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series Schedule

·        Friday, March 10   noon – 4 p.m. | Iuka, MS / Counce, TN / Waterloo, AL | Pickwick Lake

·        Saturday, March 11   10 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Buchanan, TN / Murray, KY | Kentucky Lake

·        Saturday, April 1  10 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Bean Station, TN | Cherokee Lake 

·        Sunday, April 1  1:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Jasper, TN | Nickajack Lake

Volunteers close in on the end of a bunch of litter that had been compiling over decades on Pickwick Lake In Iuka, Miss. during the 2022 Grand Slam River Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO.

With 55,000 lbs. of trash removed so far in 2023, KTNRB is on track for its third year in surpassing 100,000 lbs. of trash removed in one year. Just last month, the organization hit the milestone of more than 500,000 lbs. removed since introducing their first boat to the water in 2019. Last year, KTNRB expanded its fleet by adding a second 26-foot boat.

A volunteer stands on a recently cleaned shoreline on Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tenn. during the 2022 Grand Slam River Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO.

Each cleanup in the Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series will be bolstered with the help of the national nonprofit, Living Lands & Waters (LL&W), who will bring three of their 30-foot work boats to supplement KTNRB’s two 26-foot work boats. In joining, LL&W will increase the volunteer capacity for each cleanup to 60, therefore upping impact for the river.

“Clean water is critical to the health of our fisheries, and we're excited to take part in one of the many collective actions that we must all take to keep our waterways clean,” said Casey Shedd, President at AFTCO. “It's folks like the volunteers from Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful that inspired our ten percent pledge to protect and conserve, a pledge to donate ten percent of company profits to fishing conservation.”

Volunteers participating in the 2022 Grand Slam River Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO help to load a dock float onto the trash boat. Recent Paris, Tenn. flooding busted up a lot of docks and the remnants had been scattered along Kentucky Lake’s shorelines.

The cleanup series is also supported by funding from TVA and TDOT’s ‘Nobody Trashes Tennessee’ litter prevention campaign. It’s also taking place during Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup©. Through this far-reaching annual effort, Keep America Beautiful local affiliates host cleanups in more than 20,000 communities, engaging over five million volunteers during March and April.

Volunteers are still needed for each cleanup. To sign up for any of the Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series events, please visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups. To see AFTCO’s web site, please visit www.aftco.com.

Wheeler Lake, Rogersville, Ala. - During the 2022 Grand Slam River Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO, volunteers attack a cove that was filled with litter several years prior when a tornado hit a major campground across the river.

Record Turnout of 200 Volunteers Pull 19,304 Lbs. of Trash During Tennessee River Celebration Month in October

Volunteers kicked off ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month presented by Oris’ on Oct. 1, 2022 on Fort Loudoun Lake of the Tennessee River in Knoxville, Tenn.

Over 200 volunteers participated at four river cleanups hosted by Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) in three states this October, helping to remove 19,304 lbs.—or nearly 10 tons—of trash from the Tennessee River.

The 5th annual river cleanup series had a record volunteer turnout this October, which was proclaimed as ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month’ by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. This year, the celebration month had a title sponsorship from Oris Watches USA, with volunteer support for the series jumping 54 percent from last year’s record of 130 volunteers at six cleanups.

Volunteers cleaned Chickamauga Lake of the Tennessee River on Oct. 2 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

“Turnout for our cleanups has been phenomenal—it’s almost as if the volunteer support for the Tennessee River has gone viral, but in real life,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director. “In a time when neighboring river systems are suffering loss from drought, I think people are realizing how precious our water is, and they’re coming out in masses to our cleanups because they see they have the power to make a significant, tangible difference.”

Following the four cleanups in October, KTNRB has reached 104,997 lbs. of trash removed from the Tennessee River watershed by 489 volunteers in 2022 alone. 

Gibi also pointed to local, state and national partners for the series’ elevated attendance this year. Volunteers attending the cleanups received swag from Oris, a Swiss watch-making company that has a long history of supporting water quality and conservation efforts.

“Oris was thrilled to partner with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful for four cleanup events throughout 2022.” said V.J. Geronimo – CEO North America, Oris V.J. Geronimo – CEO North America, Oris. “Working with hundreds of volunteers and Oris enthusiasts to clean up nearly five tons of trash was enriching and most of all, impactful. Looking forward to continuing our collaboration as part of our Change For The Better program.” 

On Oct. 21, volunteers cleaned Pickwick Lake of the Tennessee River in Iuka, Miss./Counce, Tenn.

In addition to Oris’ sponsorship of the cleanup series, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Tennessee Dept. of Transportation’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee litter prevention campaign, and Keep Tennessee Beautiful have consistently funded ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month’ since it launched in 2018.

This year’s series consisted of four cleanups held in collaboration with the national nonprofit, Living Lands & Waters who brought their 30-foot work boats to supplement KTNRB’s two work boats.  

Of the 19,304 lbs. of trash removed at these four cleanups last month, 201 volunteers helped to remove 626 bags of litter and 60 tires, among many other items. Here’s a breakdown of each cleanup’s totals:

10.1.22            Knoxville, TN (Fort Loudoun Lake)           |    5,763 lbs.   |    49 volunteers

10.2.22           Chattanooga, TN (Chickamauga Lake)   |    2,873 lbs.   |    65 volunteers

10.21.22         Counce, TN/Iuka, MS (Pickwick Lake)      |    4,341 lbs.   |    59 volunteers

10.22.22         Benton, KY (Kentucky Lake)                     |    6,327 lbs.   |    28 volunteers

Gibi said that many local partners made the series a success, including:
Knoxville, TN: Duncan Boat Dock, Keep Knoxville Beautiful, Knox County Solid Waste, University of Tennessee students
Chattanooga, TN: Chester Frost Park, Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful, The Weber School
Counce, TN/Iuka, MS: Pickwick Landing State Park, Hardin County Solid Waste, Keep Iuka Beautiful, Pickwick Parrot Heads, Caterpillar-Reman, Clayton Homes-Savannah, Stryker-MS, Hardin County Fishing Club
Benton, KY: Town and Country Marina, Waste Path Services, Land Between the Lakes, Friends of Land Between the Lakes, Murray State University students

After reaching nearly 105,000 lbs. of trash removed from waterways in 2022 alone, KTNRB has to date rallied nearly 3,000 volunteers to remove over 435,000 lbs. of trash since the nonprofit began in 2016. Gibi said they’ve come a long way from their initial years of removing around 15,000 lbs. a year.

“Our growing volunteer base is a force that’s truly inspiring, and what’s really encouraging is that many of them are continuing their own cleanup efforts after we move on to the next town,” said Gibi. “They’re making actual change for our waterways possible, and it’s an honor to get to work with so many enthusiastic change-makers every day!”

For information on Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s ongoing programs or to view their river cleanup schedule, visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org.

‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month presented by Oris’ wrapped up in Benton, Ky. where volunteers cleaned Kentucky Lake of the Tennessee River.

Volunteers Needed for River Cleanups During October’s ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month Presented by Oris’

Last October, 42 Oris employees participated in a cleanup during Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month, removing 4,280 lbs. of trash.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) is seeking volunteers for four cleanups beginning October 1, 2022, that will be held in three states during October, which is celebrated as ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month presented by Oris.’

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 Kentucky along the Tennessee River in locations that have been impacted by flooding, tornados, or both in recent years.

This year, Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month has a $15,000 title sponsorship from the international Swiss watch-making company, Oris. Each volunteer that participates will receive free swag from both KTNRB and Oris.

“Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month is always a big difference-making campaign, and we’re proud to have an international, water quality-minded company like Oris demonstrating leadership to others for this important cause,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director.

Last year, the company’s 42 employees from Oris’ North American office participated in a cleanup with KTNRB, pulling out 4,280 lbs. of trash. Oris recently reached a climate-neutral status after achieving net zero greenhouse emissions, meaning that Oris’ gas emissions put out are equal to or less than the emissions they save.

A photo taken in October 2021 on Watts Bar Lake: Volunteers pose with the trash they removed during Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month, a total of 5,584 lbs. of trash removed.

Gibi said that the celebratory month is often the ‘bread and butter’ of their trash totals and that the group is staged to easily reach their 115,000-pound goal for the year with the upcoming cleanups.

The month will also include proclamations from governors and mayors across the Tennessee River watershed. Additionally, those who are unable to participate in a cleanup can still help protect the Tennessee River by making a pledge in KTNRB’s #Pledge4Rivers campaign during October.

“We're thrilled to continue our partnership with KTNRB as part of Oris' Change For The Better Initiative,” said V.J. Geronimo, Oris CEO North America. “By partnering for four cleanups in 2022, we want to do our part to help keep the Tennessee River Beautiful!"

RIVER CLEANUPS

KTNRB is partnering once again with Living Lands & Waters (LL&W), a national nonprofit that cleans North American rivers and who will bring three of their 30-foot aluminum boats, adding to KTNRB’s two boats so that even more volunteers can participate.

The cleanups during Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month are scheduled as follows:

Saturday, Oct. 1          Knoxville, TN | Fort Loudoun Lake

Sunday, Oct. 2             Chattanooga, TN | Chickamauga Lake

Friday, Oct. 21             Hardin, TN/Iuka, MS | Pickwick Lake

Saturday, Oct. 22        Benton, KY | Kentucky Lake

Volunteers may register for any cleanup at www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee campaign has funded the cost of contracting LL&W to participate for the cleanups in Tennessee and TVA is covering the contracting costs for the cleanups held in Mississippi and Kentucky.

PARTNERSHIPS & PROCLAMATIONS

Gibi said that it was the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), that originally challenged KTNRB to celebrate an awareness month for the Tennessee River. The awareness month was launched in the state of Tennessee in 2018 and has now expanded into a seven-state awareness campaign in 2022.

Proclamations from governors and mayors within the Tennessee River watershed are pursued during the month. Last year, four governors and four mayors issued proclamations for Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month.

TVA and Keep Tennessee Beautiful (funded by the Tennessee Department of Transportation) were the founding partners who initiated the formation of KTNRB as a nonprofit that would champion support and protection for the 652-mile Tennessee River. Since forming, KTNRB has rallied nearly 2,700 volunteers to remove over 416,000 pounds of trash from the Tennessee River watershed. 

As KTRWB Month is celebrated in different states, Keep Tennessee Beautiful, Keep Mississippi Beautiful, and the Land Between the Lakes are serving as acting co-organizers. Local nonprofits such as other Keep America Beautiful affiliates and the Friends of Land Between the Lakes are also supporting partners.

#PLEDGE4RIVERS CAMPAIGN

The #Pledge4Rivers campaign offers an opportunity for those who want to help the Tennessee River watershed during ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month,’ but are unable attend a cleanup. The program allows individuals to pledge to end their consumption of one single-use item for a year, preventing the chance for litter existing in the first place.  

KTNRB launched this program during the COVID quarantine in 2020, and pledges made in 2021 alone saved 16,432 single-use items from becoming waste, potentially winding up as litter.

To make a pledge for the Tennessee River, visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/pledge4rivers.

“We love celebrating this month because it brings individuals, groups, organizations, elected officials, and even international companies together in prioritizing our precious river,” said Gibi. “Our slogan is ‘Your River. Your Impact.’ and it’s true—when it comes to our waterways, you get what you give, so it’s inspiring to see so many taking the right steps.” 

For more information on Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month presented by Oris, visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/ktnrwb-month.

Volunteers that cleaned Pickwick Lake during Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month in 2021 helped to remove 6,850 lbs. of trash.

Dollywood Partners with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful to Recycle Plastic from Collected Cigarette Butts

Plastic from more than 250,000 cigarette butts recycled to date

Representatives from the groups that made Dollywood's massive cigarette plastic recycling project possible pose with a bench made from recycled cigarette plastic. Two of these benches are now installed near Dollywood's 'River Rampage' ride. Seated on bench, left to right: Carol Agee (Dollywood), Kathleen Gibi (Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful), Melinda Watson (TVA); Back row, left to right: Bobby Johnson (Dollywood), Jessica Hall (American Eagle Foundation), Mark Huber (Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful), Edmond McDavis (Keep Tennessee Beautiful)

Last year, Dollywood partnered with the river cleanup nonprofit, Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB), on a massive cigarette litter prevention project, making Dollywood the first theme park in the world to recycle the plastic from every cigarette butt collected in guest-facing receptacles on its property.

KTNRB was able to provide Dollywood with 26 art-wrapped cigarette receptacles through a collaboration of grants and sponsorships from Keep America Beautiful, Keep Tennessee Beautiful, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the American Eagle Foundation.

“This is a pioneering step that Dollywood is taking with this project—one that sets an example that our waterways are worth protecting and one that is the largest recycling impact of its kind within the seven-state Tennessee River watershed,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director. “We’re grateful to all of the partners who have made this project possible.”

In gratitude of the continuing impact from Dollywood’s efforts, KTNRB gifted two benches made from tightly compressed plastic that came from used cigarette butts. The benches were donated to KTNRB by TerraCycle, an international recycling company that recycles the cigarette plastic into outdoor furniture. The donated benches have appropriately been installed near Dollywood’s River Rampage water ride.

This is one of 26 cigarette receptacles installed throughout Dollywood as part of a recycling project with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful. The cigarette butts collected are shipped to TerraCycle for the plastic microfibers found in cigarette filters to be recycled into outdoor plastic furniture.

THE IMPACT
Dollywood has now recycled the plastic from more than 250,000 cigarette butts to date from receptacles installed at designated smoking sections within the theme park.

"Dollywood has been recognized as one of the most beautiful theme parks in the world due, in part, to the beauty of East Tennessee," said Carol Agee, Dollywood Sr. Manager of Community Affairs and Strategic Alliances. "It is vital for us to maintain this beauty by caring for our natural surroundings. Through our partnership with KTNRB, we are able to take hundreds of thousands of cigarette butts and remove them from the waste stream.”

The Pigeon River is part of the Tennessee River watershed and runs through the center of Dollywood.

In January 2019, CNN reported cigarette filters, which contain tightly compacted plastic microfibers, to be the No. 1 plastic pollutant in the world. Studies have also found that once in the water, a littered cigarette butt can contain enough toxins to kill aquatic life within two gallons of surrounding water.

Dollywood staff store the collected butts until a bulk shipment can be sent for the cigarettes' plastic to be recycled.

HOW THE PROJECT WORKS
Keep America Beautiful and Keep Tennessee Beautiful provided KTNRB funding for the cost of the receptacles, estimated around $8,000. Dollywood designed the art wraps to match the theme park’s branding, and KTNRB had the wraps printed onto the receptacles with a combination of grants and sponsorships from Keep America Beautiful, the American Eagle Foundation, and TVA.

Dollywood installed the receptacles throughout the theme park property and staff regularly empty the cigarette butts until full boxes are ready to be sent off for recycling.

Once Dollywood’s staff members collect enough cigarette butts to send off, TerraCycle covers the cost of shipping to their facility in New Jersey. TerraCycle then works with processors and manufacturers to recycle the plastic microfibers found in cigarette filters into outdoor plastic furniture.

KTNRB is able to track how many cigarette butts have been processed through TerraCycle’s website once they have been processed through the recycling facility.

In total, KTNRB has 800 art-wrapped cigarette receptacles installed in all seven states of the Tennessee River watershed, with partners at marinas, campgrounds and businesses maintaining them. To date, more than 275,000 cigarette butts have been recycled in the seven-state effort, making Dollywood the largest recycler in KTNRB’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program.

“We’re grateful to have such a leader within our watershed and hope their example inspires others to follow,” said Gibi. “We could think of no greater theme park to champion such an effort than Dollywood, who has so successfully married the theme park experience with the stunning setting of the Great Smoky Mountains and the Pigeon River, demonstrating to park visitors each year that our natural assets are both cultural and economic treasures,” said Gibi.

For more information about joining Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program or to join litter cleanup efforts on the Tennessee River watershed, please visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org.

The Pigeon River, seen at a lower level in this photo due to summer weather, is part of the Tennessee River watershed and runs through the center of Dollywood.

Tennessee River Cleanup Efforts to Increase with Expansion of Nonprofit Fleet Thanks to Donations from TVA and Yamaha Rightwaters™

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) can now boast a fleet of two 26-foot river cleanup boats after celebrating the maiden voyage of the organization’s second boat earlier this week with a cleanup held on Fort Loudoun Lake of the Tennessee River. The nonprofit’s board members and their families participated in the cleanup, removing 1,453 lbs. of trash during the boat’s first venture on the water.

The purchase of the custom aluminum john boat, named The Holston after one of the two rivers that converge to form the Tennessee River, was made possible largely through funding and donations from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Yamaha Rightwaters™, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based Home Depot (Schaad Road) store, and Premier Watersports of Knoxville.

“Having this second boat in our fleet is going to be a gamechanger that will allow us to arguably double our impact for the seven-state Tennessee River watershed,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director.

“We’re particularly proud that such a wide-ranging representation of sponsors who we see as champions for our waterways were willing to step up to help us acquire this boat, because it’s going to take an effort from all levels of the community to protect our precious river system.”

Some of KTNRB’s board members and their families participated in the maiden voyage cleanup for the nonprofit’s new boat on Fort Loudoun Lake of the Tennessee River on July 31, 2022.

Having just one boat up until now, KTNRB hosts over 40 river cleanups a year throughout the seven-state Tennessee River watershed, with more than 700 volunteers helping them to remove over 152,000 lbs. of trash in 2021. Following the cleanup held this week, nearly 300 volunteers have helped to remove over 85,000 lbs. of trash in 2022 thus far.

TVA, who helped to start Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful in 2016, provided funding that primarily assisted with the purchase of the custom john boat and trailer. Though TVA is primarily known for supplying power to 153 individual local power companies, it also has a Natural Resources group that supports more than 40 river cleanup groups each year.

“Since TVA helped KTNRB acquire their first boat in 2019 and was a founding partner, it only made since that we help with the expansion of obtaining the second boat. Providing funding to organizations like KTNRB help TVA to meet is mission of service by providing natural resource stewardship and outdoor recreation opportunities on TVA’s public lands and waters across the valley,” according to Rebecca Hayden, Director, Natural Resources at TVA. “Their efforts help to provide a safe, natural environment not just for the public, but also for wildlife.”

Yamaha Rightwaters™ generously donated the highly sought-after V MAX SHO® 90 outboard motor and tiller arm. The motor matches a replica donation Yamaha made in 2020 for KTNRB’s first boat, The Tennessee. Since the first motor donation was made in 2020, KTNRB has been able to remove over 293,000 lbs. of trash from the Tennessee River watershed.

“Two Yamaha facilities call the Tennessee River home, so it only makes sense for Yamaha Rightwaters to work alongside of KTNRB to keep the Tennessee River’s waterways clean,” said John O’Keefe, Senior Specialist, Government Relations, Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit and KTNRB board member. “This is an organization that is really making a difference – it’s that simple. We look forward to helping KTNRB accelerate its mission with a second  cleanup boat.”

Yamaha Rightwaters™ has also consistently sponsored KTNRB’s annual Ripple Effect Awards, through which river champions are recognized for outstanding efforts to protect local waterways.

Preparing a boat to be river-worthy involves expenses beyond the boat, motor and trailer purchase, and KTNRB received help on this front, as well. A Knoxville-based Home Depot (Schaad Road) store donated approx. $2,500 in supplies. This included a truck bed tool box that was welded onto the boat to serve as a dry box, pressure-treated wood that was used to make volunteer benches spanning the 26-foot boat, and a variety of river cleanup tools and safety gear that help the boat to meet U.S. Coast Guard standards.

Premier Watersports of Knoxville saved KTNRB a large sum by donating the labor expenses of installing Yamaha’s motor and tiller arm. They also donated a gas tank (filled with gas), and a boat battery with a water-proof case.

“For a nonprofit with a humble budget like ours is, these covered costs go a long way for us to be able to make an even greater impact on our waterways, and we’re so very grateful to each of our sponsors for making this boat purchase possible,” said Gibi.

Until now, Gibi said that KTNRB was in the position of each cleanup relying on their one boat being operational. As their first boat had been through several years of service and as the requests for river cleanups have increased, they realized that a backup boat was essential.

Soon, however, Gibi said that KTNRB staffing will add two positions that will serve as boat captains at cleanups, among other organizational responsibilities. Currently, Gibi is the only full-time staff member and sole boat driver for the nonprofit. She said they’re working on securing funding for the new positions now and hope to begin hiring in 2023.

“The momentum we’ve had from the support of volunteers, partners and sponsors over the last few years has been inspiring and overwhelming,” said Gibi. “It’s our mission to inspire others to take action for this river, and that’s what we’re seeing more and more.”

‘Chickamauga Lake Cleanup Weekend Presented by Isustain’ to Take Place with Two Cleanups June 10-11

Group of volunteers, including iSustain employees, with one of the trash piles they collected at last year’s cleanups.

iSustain owners Mark and Dawn Huber collect litter on Chickamauga Lake at the 2021 cleanups.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) will host a two-part volunteer cleanup series

called the ‘Chickamauga Lake Cleanup Weekend presented by iSustain’ held on Friday, June 10,

and Saturday, June 11.

The cleanup series is made possible thanks to a title sponsorship from iSustain Recycling, a

national sustainability services company that processes over 182 million pounds of recyclable

products each year.

“Not only does iSustain work daily to protect our waterways by reducing waste going to our landfill on the industrial level, but their team consistently participates in community cleanups,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director. “We’re proud to work with and be supported by such an environmentally-focused company.”

Volunteers from the community are invited to join both cleanups held on Chickamauga Lake of the Tennessee River in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, which will also be powered by employees from iSustain.

Mark Huber, iSustain owner and Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful board member, towes a boat full of trash collected at last year's cleanup with KTNRB Executive Director Kathleen Gibi at the helm.

The event series is also held in partnership with Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful and the Chickamauga Fly, Bait & Casting Club (a participant in KTNRB’s Adopt a River Mile program). Both partners are assisting with local volunteer recruitment for the weekend’s cleanups.

KTNRB will take volunteers out on their 26-foot work boat each day to clean a portion of the Tennessee River near Possum Creek.

“So exciting to be a part of the KTNRB efforts to educate, create awareness, and make an

impact on the litter in our waterways,” said Mark Huber, Vice President of Business

Development for iSustain, Inc. and KTNRB board member. “KTNRB is focusing on the source

of ocean litter and microplastic contamination, and through outreach and education we can all

make a difference on our beautiful waterways here in Tennessee and nationally.”

Volunteers must register for the event as boat seats are limited. Registration for both events

can be found at www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/chickamauga1.

olunteers pose with trash they collected at last year's cleanup.

Volunteers Remove over 25,000 Lbs. of Trash at Sites Impacted by Natural Disasters Along the Tennessee River

One of the two volunteer groups at the Paris, Tenn. cleanup celebrates beside one of three trash boats filled up. This cleanup day marked the 3rd highest weight total in Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s history.

Nearly 50 volunteers removed 25,145 lbs. (12.5 tons) of trash in Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s 3rd annual ‘Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO,’ a cleanup series that focused on four areas recently impacted by natural disasters.

The group of volunteers that cleaned up Wheeler Lake in Rogersville, Ala. pose with the three boats they filled up with litter.

“Averaging over 500 pounds per volunteer over four cleanups is unheard of,” said Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB). “These communities needed dedicated volunteers to help us cleanup after natural disasters like tornadoes and floods that have been hitting the region, and our volunteers answered the call in a big way.” 

Gibi pointed out that the turnout for the April 8th Waverly, Tenn. cleanup was low because it began to snow just before the cleanup started. Nevertheless, four volunteers still came out to help the crew remove nearly 7,000 lbs. of trash.

Throughout the series, volunteers rode on KTNRB’s 26-foot work boat and five other 30-foot work boats brought in by the national nonprofit Living Lands & Waters (LL&W) to go clean shorelines. Gibi said LL&W’s assistance bolstered the efforts to maximize the cleanups’ results:

Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series Results

·        March 26  Iuka, MS @ Pickwick Lake | 4,865 lbs. removed by 17 volunteers
The area was affected by flooding in 2019 & 2021.

·       March 27  Rogersville, AL @ Wheeler Lake | 5,059 lbs. removed by 11 volunteers
The area was affected by an F-1 tornado in 2020.

·       April 8  Waverly, TN @ Kentucky Lake | 6,911 lbs. removed by 4 volunteers
The area was affected by deadly flooding in 2021.                                                 

·       April 9  Paris, TN @ Kentucky Lake | 8,310 lbs. removed by 15 volunteers
The area was affected by 2021 floods.

The four volunteers who came out to a river cleanup in snowy weather stand with one of the three trash boats they filled up in Waverly, Tenn. where the river was impacted by deadly flooding in 2021.

SERIES TOTAL: 25,145 lbs. removed

The cleanup in Paris, Tenn. made for the 3rd highest weight total for any cleanup hosted by KTNRB to date. KTNRB is following a record-breaking year in 2021 in which more than 700 volunteers removed more than 152,000 lbs. of trash at 45 cleanups. Following the Grand Slam River Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO, KTNRB is now at 58,077 lbs. removed with the help from 160 volunteers in 2022. 

“To think that 50 volunteers were able to remove 25,000 lbs. of trash shows both the power of what a few can do and the scale of the need we have around litter prevention / extraction, said Casey Shedd, President at AFTCO. “AFTCO is very thankful for KTNRB and the volunteers that show up to make a difference.”

The cleanup series was also supported by funding from Tennessee Valley Authority and TDOT’s ‘Nobody Trashes Tennessee’ litter prevention campaign. It also took place during Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup©. Through this far-reaching annual effort, Keep America Beautiful local affiliates host cleanups in more than 20,000 communities, engaging over five million volunteers during the months of March and April. 

To see a full list of Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s upcoming cleanup schedule, please visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups. To see AFTCO’s web site, please visit www.aftco.com.

The group of volunteers in Iuka, Miss. stand with one of the two trash boats they filled up at a cleanup focusing on an area recently affected by flooding and tornadoes.

Nonprofit to Hold 9th Flood Relief River Cleanup in Waverly since 2020 with Help from Fleet Upgrades Funded by Chemours Donations

Chemours employees celebrate one of the large piles of litter they collected at a cleanup held in January 2022 following the Waverly, Tenn. floods in 2021.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) will hold its ninth volunteer cleanup in Waverly, Tenn. this Friday, April 8, from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. in the third leg of the nonprofit’s ‘Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO.’ 

Since October 2020, KTNRB has partnered with local groups in the Humphreys County community to host eight cleanups on the Tennessee River at the mouth of Trace Creek, where the 2021 floods ran off and a previous significant flood came through in 2019. 

In all, 65 volunteers removed 27,433 lbs. of trash at those eight cleanups. Of those cleanups, staff from the local Chemours plant participated in three cleanups designated specifically for their employees, pulling a total of 10,645 lbs. of trash.

“Chemours is one of the most active companies that we’ve worked with as far as river cleanup attendance goes, and it’s been fun to clean the river with such an enthusiastic group,” said Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for KTNRB. “We’re grateful that Chemours has supported our work with their volunteer force and by helping us to improve our fleet with donations.”

Grey Collier and other Chemours employees cleanup litter at a cleanup held in January 2022 following the Waverly, Tenn. floods in 2021.

Earlier this year, Chemours donated $3,000 to KTNRB to purchase new tires for their Ford F-250 that hauls the river group’s 26-foot work boat. The donation will also fund an art wrap for the truck. 

Gibi said that good tread on their truck’s tires is essential since the group is frequently hauling a wet boat and trailer out of the water with thousands of pounds of trash on it. The new tires have already been installed and Gibi said that KTNRB will work on the truck’s art wrap when their cleanup schedule slows down.

Just in 2022, KTNRB has already rallied 138 volunteers to remove 40,755 lbs. of trash at 13 cleanups held in four states. In 2021, Chemours donated $2,000 to KTNRB to install a truck bed cover to keep their life vests and other equipment dry. It was in 2021 that KTNRB set its new record of 152,000 lbs. of trash removed by more than 700 volunteers. 

"Chemours is happy to have had the opportunity to support and build a relationship with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful," said Plant Manager C.J. Hilton. "Their work and dedication to cleaning up the river is an ongoing effort that benefits us all, and we look forward to continuing to partner with them in the future.”

At the cleanup on Friday that will launch from the boat ramp at Pebble Isle Marina, KTNRB will be reinforced by the national nonprofit, Living Lands & Waters, who will bring their five additional boats to supplement KTNRB’s boat. 

There are still plenty of seats on the boats and with all of the flood debris that came from Trace Creek, volunteers are very much needed! Every volunteer will be given free work gloves, a t-shirt, and a stainless steel water bottle to take home. Life vests will also be provided during the cleanup.

Volunteers can register for the Waverly river cleanup at www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/waverly. 

KTNRB is able to fund the additional boats and crew from Living Lands & Waters during the Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series through grants from the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation’s ‘Nobody Trashes Tennessee’ litter prevention campaign.

The final cleanup in the Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO will be held on Saturday, April 9, in Paris, Tenn.

For more information on upcoming cleanups with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups.

Chemours volunteers point to the truck bed cover that the company's donation helped to purchase after a cleanup they did in Earth Day 2021 to cleanup of the Tennessee River at the mouth of Trace Creek where the 2019 floods had deposited tons of litter and trash.

Tennessee River Now Home to the World’s Largest Network of Electric Litter Skimmers

KTNRB AmeriCorps Member Isaac Christman shows off to the media and officials the recent collections of the newest Seabin installed on the Tennessee River and in front of the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tenn. at a press conference for KTNRB’s Seabin Project announced on World Water Day (3.22.22).

The Tennessee River and some of its tributaries are about to become home to the largest network of electric litter skimmer devices on any river system in the world. Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) is working with partners across the seven-state Tennessee River watershed to install 18 Seabin devices, all thanks to two large grants from the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation (TDOT) and Keep America Beautiful (KAB).

KTNRB Executive Director, Kathleen Gibi, speaks at the Seabin press conference on World Water Day (3.22.22) at the site of the Seabin managed by the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The Seabin device, a product out of Australia, works 24/7 to collect marine debris from the surface of the water, much like a pool skimmer that’s electrically operated. Each device can remove up to 3,000 lbs. of marine debris a year, meaning that the 18 devices installed along the Tennessee River watershed will have the potential of removing up to 54,000 lbs. a year. Even more than that, the devices will also filter out gasoline, oils, and microplastics from the water.  

Tennessee Aquarium staff clean out the Seabin device located on the Chattanooga Pier on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tenn.

“Until now, all of our work has only been able to prevent microplastics in our waterways, so we are thrilled to be making an effort to actually mitigate microplastics out of the water,” said Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for KTNRB. “We’re grateful to TDOT and Keep America Beautiful for these—as I see it—revolutionary grants and to our partners who will be maintaining the Seabins to make this trailblazing project possible.”

The Seabins are currently installed and maintained primarily by marina staff in Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina. KTNRB is still looking to find a home for six remaining Seabins. As part of the grant, each Seabin overseer will document the amount and types of litter collected so that the data can be analyzed. Seabins are either installed or are about to be installed at the following sites: 

-       Louisville Landing Marina | Louisville, Tenn.                                        
-       Volunteer Landing Marina | Knoxville, Tenn.
-       Tennessee Aquarium | Chattanooga, Tenn.
-       Harrison Bay State Park | Soddy Daisy, Tenn.
-       Pickwick Landing State Park | Hardin County, Tenn.
-       Paris Landing State Park | Paris, Tenn.
-       Lake Ocoee Inn & Marina | Benton, Tenn.
-       Tellico Marina | Vonore, Tenn.
-       Clifton RV & Marina | Clifton, Tenn.
-       Fontana Village Resort & Marina | Fontana, N.C.
-       Joe Wheeler State Park | Rogersville, Ala.
-       Florence Harbor Marina | Florence, Ala.

KTNRB made the announcement of the Seabin project today on World Water Day alongside representatives from TDOT, KAB, the City of Chattanooga, and the Tennessee Aquarium. 

The Aquarium is a special partner in KTNRB’s Seabin project, managing one of the 18 Seabins on the City of Chattanooga’s river walk in front of their facility. As an educational institution with a freshwater science center, the Aquarium will be integrating Seabins into educational programming and examining any litter trends discovered through the Seabin network collections.

Trash collected in the Seabin at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tenn.

"Healthy communities depend upon healthy rivers, lakes, and streams," said Dr. Anna George, the Aquarium's VP of Conservation Science and Education. "The Seabins network will give us new opportunities to engage students and the public to show them how litter continuously flows from the land and into our waterways."

After the 2017 "TenneSwim" study by Dr. Andreas Fath of Furtwangen University showed that the water near the surface of the Tennessee River contains microplastic concentrations 80 times higher than those found in Germany's Rhine River, the Tennessee Aquarium set a course to better understand and combat the problem. Dr. Fath's study brought public attention to this growing threat, but left scientists asking why our river contains so much plastic.   

Collaborative efforts are underway to better understand the prevalence of microplastics in Southeastern rivers today, the types and potential sources of these plastics, and eventually learn how microplastics affect aquatic animals' health. 

The Seabin device installed at Louisville Landing Marina on the Tennessee River in Louisville, Tenn.

"We're hopeful that we can turn this tide of freshwater plastic around by collaborating with partners like TDOT, Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, and others to urge the public to reduce single-use plastics, recycle the rest and join in cleanup efforts that help improve our water quality," said Dr. George. 

Of the 18 Seabin devices along the Tennessee River watershed, TDOT’s ‘Nobody Trashes Tennessee’ litter campaign provided funding to KTNRB for 10 devices to be purchased. Nobody Trashes Tennessee has also been funding KTNRB’s volunteer litter cleanups, Adopt a River Mile program, and Cigarette Litter Prevention Program.

“TDOT’s partnership with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful demonstrates the connectedness of roadside litter to that which ends up in our waterways.” Said TDOT’s Interim Commissioner Joseph Galbato, III. “Assisting with this new network of litter removing devices is just another way that TDOT is helping to make our state cleaner and greener.”  

The other eight Seabin devices have been funded through grants from Keep America Beautiful, who first introduced KTNRB to the Seabin device. Leading up into 2020, Seabin devices had been used in Australia, Europe, and Asia for years. A Seabin distributing company known as The SEArial Cleaners based out of France approached Keep America Beautiful about introducing Seabins to the United States. The national nonprofit then selected three KAB affiliates to test a Seabin pilot project on different bodies of water: one along an inland lake (Keep Ohio Beautiful), one oceanfront site (Keep New Hanover Beautiful), and one inland river (Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful). 

After installing two Seabin devices in East Tenn. at Volunteer Landing Marina and Louisville Landing Marina, KTNRB reported success with the product. In 2021, KAB announced a nationwide grant for Seabin devices to their local KAB affiliates. KTNRB received six Seabins in the grant and then collaborated with Keep the Shoals Beautiful in Florence, Ala. who also received two Seabins through the same grant.

Cigarette butts and bottle caps are common litter items collected in Seabin devices. This photo shows collections made from the Tennessee River at Volunteer Landing Marina in Knoxville, Tenn.

“The leadership and innovation of the Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful and Keep the Shoals Beautiful is truly inspirational and a model for the over 700 Keep America Beautiful Affiliates across the nation,” said Randy Hartmann, Senior Director of Keep America Beautiful. “With over 26 billion pieces of litter found along-side our nation’s waterways, it is critical to clean up this litter.

The beauty of the Seabin program is that it captures the ‘small litter’ which comprises almost nine out of ten littered items counted in the 2020 KAB Litter Study.”

In rolling out their Seabin project, KTNRB recruited partners to oversee the Seabins and then used the grant money to purchase the Seabins and have them delivered to each site. Staff at KTNRB will be compiling the litter data reported by each site manager. Gibi said the goal is to use the data to hopefully identify litter trends and sources so that new steps can be taken to stop litter flow into our waterways.

“We at Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful are very serious when we say that we’re aiming to work ourselves out of work, and coming at the litter from different angles such as litter prevention and education, physical litter cleanup, and now electric-powered filtration of our waterways will help us achieve that end game,” said Gibi. “When you look at all of the partners who came together to make our Seabin network possible, it’s obvious that we’re all determined to protect our precious Tennessee River, the most beautiful and biodiverse river in the nation.”

To learn more, visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/seabin.  

March 26 Kickoff: ‘Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series Presented by AFTCO’

Two Living Lands & Waters boats filled with trash pull in at a KTNRB cleanup held on Guntersvlile Lake in Scottsboro, Ala. in October 2021.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) will kick off the ‘Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series presented by AFTCO,’ bringing four major cleanups held within three states. 

The cleanup campaign is sponsored by The American Fishing Tackle Company (AFTCO), an outdoor apparel and tackle company that has both sponsored the series and equipped the KTNRB staff with seasonal apparel to stay clean, dry, and comfortable at cleanups through any weather.

Each cleanup in the Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series will be hosted at areas that have recently been affected by natural disasters: 

Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series Schedule

·        Saturday, March 26  10 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Iuka, MS | Pickwick Lake | Affected by flooding in 2019 & 2021

·        Sunday, March 27  1:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Rogersville, AL | Wheeler Lake | Affected by an F-1 tornado in 2020

·       Friday, April 8 | 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Waverly, TN | Kentucky Lake | Affected by deadly flooding in 2021                                                                                

·       Saturday, April 9 | 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Paris, TN | Kentucky Lake | Affected by 2021 floods

Volunteers pose with the KTNRB and LL&W boats filled with trash collected at a KTNRB cleanup held on Pickwick Lake in October 2020.

“Long after natural disasters pass through a community, the debris from the damage remains in our waterways, breaking down to cause issues for the health of our water source and the river’s ecosystem,” said Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful. “We’re grateful to AFTCO, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Tennessee Dept. of Transportation, our partners, and the volunteers for making it possible to restore these parts of the river to their beautiful, natural setting.”

KTNRB is following a record-breaking year in which more than 700 volunteers removed more than 152,000 lbs. of trash at 45 cleanups. Each cleanup in the Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series will be bolstered with the help of the national nonprofit, Living Lands & Waters (LL&W), who will bring their five 30-foot work boats to supplement KTNRB’s 26-foot work boat. In joining, LL&W will increase the volunteer capacity for each cleanup to 60, which is a number that can make a significant impact for the river.

“Clean water is critical to the health of our fisheries, and we're excited to take part in one of the many collective actions that we must all take to keep our waterways clean,” said Casey Shedd, President at AFTCO. “It's folks like the volunteers from Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful that inspired our ten percent pledge to protect and conserve, a pledge to donate ten percent of company profits to fishing conservation.” 

The cleanup series is also supported by funding from TVA and TDOT’s ‘Nobody Trashes Tennessee’ litter prevention campaign. It’s also taking place during Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup©. Through this far-reaching annual effort, Keep America Beautiful local affiliates host cleanups in more than 20,000 communities, engaging over five million volunteers during the months of March and April. 

Volunteers are still needed for each cleanup. To sign up for any of the Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series events, please visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups. To see AFTCO’s web site, please visit www.aftco.com.

Volunteers Remove 18.3 Tons (16,648 Lbs) of Trash from Four Rivers in ‘Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series’

Volunteers pose with the trash collected at one site on Tellico Lake in Vonore, TN.

A collective 47 volunteers removed 16,648 lbs. of trash from four different rivers in a month-long series in Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s 2nd annual Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series. The most recent series total has the river cleanup nonprofit right on track with its record-breaking year in 2021, in which more than 700 volunteers removed over 152,000 lbs. of trash.

Cleaning up a cove on Tellico Lake in Vonore, TN.

“As awe-inspiring as the natural scenery is around the Cherokee National Forest’s rivers, we were even more inspired by the enthusiasm of our volunteers that took each cleanup to the highest level possible,” said Kathleen Gibi, Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) Executive Director.

KTNRB hosted five river cleanups through February and March, collaborating with local Keep America Beautiful affiliates and local governments:

CHEROKEE NATIONAL FOREST RIVER CLEANUP SERIES RESULTS

Feb. 12     Tellico Lake of the Little Tennessee River  Vonore, TN                 4,742 lbs.         12 volunteers  

Feb. 13      Parksville Lake of the Ocoee River             Benton, TN                  2,288 lbs.        12 volunteers

Feb. 26      Watauga Lake of the Watauga River          Elizabethton, TN        4,616 lbs.        8 volunteers

Feb. 27      South Holston Lake on the Holston River   Abingdon, VA           1,693 lbs.        3 volunteers

Mar. 5       Tellico Lake of the Little Tennessee River  Vonore, TN                 3,309 lbs.        12 volunteers

                                                                                                                         16,648 lbs.     47 volunteers

Volunteers with the trash they collected on Parksville Lake in Ocoee, TN.

The 47 volunteers had other harrowing statistics from their efforts, including a total of 381 bags of trash and 89 tires removed.

“The impressive numbers we reached over the last four weeks wouldn’t have been possible without our hard-working volunteers and collaborative partners,” said Gibi. “It takes a village to put the kind of trash into the river that our volunteers pulled out, and this series showed the fact that we’ve got a strong village willing to protect our waterways at the same time.”

Volunteer participants ranged from individuals, to parents and their kids, to former marines, to the Theta Tau engineering fraternity from the University of Tennessee, to marina owners, to a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officer, to a repeat volunteer who has now been to KTNRB’s farthest reaching cleanups on either end of the Tennessee River watershed. 

Volunteers with the trash they collected on South Holston Lake in Abingdon, VA.

The final cleanup on Tellico Lake was comprised solely of members of the Schaad Family and Company. In addition to participating in the cleanup, the Schaad Family made a generous donation of $15,000 to KTNRB.

Partners like Keep Cleveland & Bradley County Beautiful, Keep Carter County Beautiful, Keep Jonesborough Beautiful, and Keep Southwest Virginia Beautiful all played a huge role in organizational details, recruiting, and participation. Monroe County Government, Waste Connections of Tennessee – Cleveland Hauling, Carter County Solid Waste, and GFL Environmental all donated dumpster services for the trash to be hauled away from each cleanup.

The series was largely made possible by funding received from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation’s ‘Nobody Trashes Tennessee’ litter campaign.  

KTNRB plans to host its 3rd annual Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series in 2023. For more information about KTNRB’s schedule, please visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups.

Volunteers cleanup trash in a cove on Watauga Lake in Carter County, TN.

130 Volunteers Pull 34,500 lbs. of Trash in October Alone, Smashing River Group’s 2021 Goal of Removing 125,000 lbs. in One Year

Volunteers at a river cleanup held on Watts Bar of the Tennessee River in Ten Mile, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021

A sum of 134 volunteers participated at six river cleanups hosted by Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB), helping to remove 34,481 lbs. of trash from the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers in October. The month was declared by four governors and four mayors to be ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month.’

“This past month’s success is a testament to the energy buzzing around the Tennessee River watershed thanks to dozens of invested partners, hundreds of passionate volunteers, and many supporting sponsors,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director. “None of this would be possible without them, and more than ever, I think we’re seeing the significant impact we can make for this river when we work together!”

Volunteers at the cleanup held on Guntersville Lake of the Tennessee River.

October’s massive total helped KTNRB to blow out of the water (pun intended) their ‘125,000 lb. Goal for 2021 River Cleanups presented by YETI.’ The river group is now sitting at 147,511 lbs. of trash removed by 671 volunteers just this year, which is more than twice their previous record of 61,500 lbs. set in 2020. KTNRB was able to extend its goal of removing 100,000 lbs. to 125,000 lbs. earlier this year after receiving a sponsorship from YETI, allowing the group to host more river cleanups.

Of the 147,511 lbs. of trash removed this year, Gibi estimated that single-use drink containers such as aluminum cans, Styrofoam cups, or glass and plastic bottles comprised over 44,500 lbs. She called that number a “lowball estimate” percentage of what filled the 3,176 bags of trash removed by volunteers in 2021.
 

RIVER CLEANUPS

KTNRB set other new records and firsts with river cleanups last month. For starters, 38 volunteers removed the most trash at any cleanup held on Pickwick Lake in Iuka, Miss./Hardin County, Tenn. with 6,850 lbs. removed. 

A new record was also set for the most trash removed at one KTNRB cleanup, with 30 volunteers removing 12,489 lbs. of trash in just four hours. Much of the trash collected that day included dock floats, large Styrofoam blocks, and tires, presumably accumulated on the Kentucky Lake shores in Benton, Ky. following severe tornadoes and floods that have occurred over the last few years.

Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for KTNRB, drives the boat in front of the Nashville skyline on the Cumberland River.

The month also introduced some firsts for KTNRB, the most obvious being a cleanup held on the Cumberland River, which is out of the nonprofit’s typical area of service. A Swiss watch-making company happened to be hosting a conference for their North American offices in Nashville, heard about the river cleanup group, and asked them to host a river cleanup from the Opryland Convention Center’s nearby boat ramp so that their 40+ attendees could contribute to the community where they were convening.

Other firsts for KTNRB last month came with cleanups hosted in the cities of Ten Mile, Tenn., Scottsboro, Ala., and Benton, Ky. for the first time.

“It’s exciting to see energy building in areas where we’ve been hosting cleanups, but I’m always even more inspired when we can see people’s eyes light up when we’re hosting a cleanup in a community for the first time,” Gibi said, noting that Scottsboro, Ala.  area had four new river adoptions following their cleanup held there on Oct. 1. 

Volunteers at the cleanup on Kentucky Lake of the Tennessee River.

“I love this cleanup series, because  you can really see the impact that’s possible when we’re reinforced by the energy level that the crew from a powerhouse like Living Lands & Waters brings,” Gibi said.

Four of October’s cleanups were assisted by the national nonprofit, Living Lands & Waters (LL&W), who brought their five 30-foot work boats to supplement KTNRB’s 26-foot boat. LL&W has been operating since 1998, removing more than 11 million lbs. of trash from North American rivers and ultimately playing a large part in KTNRB’s forming along with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Keep Tennessee Beautiful (KTnB).  

“These cleanups were fun for everyone involved and I feel like this month in particular really showcased just how much KTNRB has grown,” said Dan Breidenstein of Living Lands & Waters who also serves as KTNRB Board VP. “We always enjoy working with them and it’s rewarding to see them accomplish so much. 

Throughout the month of October, KTNRB traveled to the four states touched by the main stem of the Tennessee River, which includes Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky. The cleanup series was funded by TVA, Tennessee Department of Transportation, KTnB, Yamaha Rightwaters™, and YETI. 

Of the 34,481 lbs. of trash removed at these six cleanups last month, 134 volunteers helped to remove 633 bags of trash and 111 tires, among many other items. Here’s a breakdown of each cleanup’s totals:

10.1.21            Scottsboro, AL (Guntersville Lake)       |    3,917 lbs.    |    8 volunteers
10.2.21             Ten Mile, TN (Watts Bar Lake)              |    5,584 lbs.    |    13 volunteers
10.13.21          Nashville, TN (Cumberland River)       |    4,280 lbs.    |    42 volunteers
10.15.21          Iuka, MS (Pickwick Lake)                      |    6,850 lbs.    |    38 volunteers
10.16.21          Benton, KY (Kentucky Lake)                 |    12,489 lbs.  |    30 volunteers
10.25.21          Knoxville, TN (Fort Loudoun Lake)       |     1,361  lbs.  |    3 volunteers

PROCLAMATIONS

Each year, KTNRB seeks proclamations from elected officials to declare October as ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month.’ This year, four governors and four mayors made proclamations, including:

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee                           Knoxville, TN Mayor Indya Kincannon
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey                             Kingston, TN Mayor Timothy Neal
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves                  Scottsboro, AL Mayor Jim McCamy
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear                  Florence, AL Mayor Andy Betterton

Mayor McCamy of Scottsboro, Ala. signs a proclamation declaring October 2021 to be ‘Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month.’

RIPPLE EFFECT AWARDS

The 3rd annual Ripple Effect Awards presented by Yamaha Rightwaters™ will be presented digitally again this year due to COVID-19, and nominations to KTNRB were closed last month. River champions in three different geographic regions within the Tennessee River watershed are recognized for their river stewardship.

Traditionally, the awards are presented at a banquet held before a large river cleanup during Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month. While the highly sought-after glass-blown trophies will still be awarded, they will be presented via professionally produced virtual videos later this year. Winners will be announced before the end of the year.

A group of volunteers at the Pickwick Lake cleanup held in Iuka, Miss./Hardin County, Tenn.