2023 Cleanup Summary
This year we held 14 cleanups and, with the help of 225 volunteers, picked up more than 10,000 pounds of trash from rivers and streams across the watershed. Since 2019 we've partnered with the South Carolina Aquarium to track the trash we collect at our cleanups through the Litter Journal app. The data we collect helps us identify litter trends, inform advocacy and policy, and educate the public. In 2023 we collected and recorded 17,433 pieces of trash and debris at our cleanups.
Below is a brief analysis of our river and stream cleanup data from the last year.
Glass bottles and fragments were the most common item we picked up, making up just over 20% of the total number of items we recorded. Most of that glass came from one spot (and one very dedicated group of volunteers) along the banks of the Congaree River. Styrofoam, plastic food wrappers, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and plastic bags made up the rest of the most common items, and were found at virtually every cleanup.
Overall, plastics made up more than 50% of all the items we documented. Plastics were, once again, the most common category of trash by a significant margin.
We also regularly pick up a number of large items at the cleanups. This year we picked up 26 tires, 4 shopping carts, and 3 TVs from local waterways. You can see a few of the more unique items we found this year in the photos below.
We can't do these cleanups alone, so thank you to Palmetto Pride and SCDNR for providing supplies, and to our local government partners, including Richland County, City of Columbia, City of Cayce, and City of West Columbia for picking up and disposing of the trash. Thanks to the Gills Creek Watershed Association for partnering with us for River Sweep, and to Canoeing for Kids for providing boats. Most importantly though, thank you to the dedicated volunteers who came out and helped clean up our rivers and streams!
