2024 Cleanup Summary
This year we held 14 cleanups and, with the help of nearly 200 volunteers, we picked up more than 9,000 pounds of trash from local rivers and streams. 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 2024 we collected and recorded 13,575 pieces of trash and debris at our cleanups.
Below is a brief analysis of our river and stream cleanup data from the last year.
Plastic bags (both retail and non-retail) were the most common item we picked up, making up almost 13% of the total number of items we recorded. We picked up dozens of plastic bags at every single one of our cleanups this year. Glass, plastic bottles, plastic food wrappers, aluminum cans, and styrofoam made up the rest of the most common items, and were found at virtually every cleanup.
Overall, plastics made up more than 53% of all the items we documented. Not surprisingly, plastics were again the most common category of trash by a significant margin.
In addition to the most common items, we also pick up a number of large or unusual items at the cleanups. This year we picked up 20 tires and tire pieces, 3 shopping carts, several hoses, an inflatable pool, a rolling trash can, a tv, a vaccum, and a bike.
Thank you so much to our amazing volunteers who came out and helped clean up our rivers and streams; we couldn't do any of this without you! Thanks to the community organizations and local businesses who joined us for cleanups, including the
Gills Creek Watershed Association (and
Canoeing for Kids for providing boats), various USC clubs, soldiers from Fort Jackson and several others. Also, thank you to
Palmetto Pride and
SCDNR for providing supplies, and to our local government partners, including Richland County, City of Columbia, and City of Cayce for picking up and disposing of the trash.
