River Cleanup Effort Needs Volunteers

A large amount of flooding this year has the Ohio River Sweep coordinators asking for more than 18,000 volunteers to pick up trash June 18.

The annual effort to clean up the banks of the Ohio draws a number of community groups and individuals each year, says Lisa Cochran of Cincinnati’s Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission. ORSANCO oversees the cleanup.

Cochran says her group tries to get a crew to every county that borders the Ohio, from its origin in Pittsburgh to its confluence with the Mississippi in Illinois.

She says representatives from many counties report more visible trash than usual, probably due to the high flood levels. Last year, the Ohio River Sweep picked up about 7,000 pounds of trash from the riverbank, with normal debris ranging from aluminum cans to tires.

Cochran says volunteers are given a trash bag and gloves for the cleanup, along with a free T-shirt afterwards.

Interested parties should contact ORSANCO at (800) 359-3977 or at its website.