Page 10 - May-June2025 Vol 43 No 1

STATEWIDE By Kathleen Gibi
Keep The Tennessee River Beautiful

Removes 200,000 lbs. of Trash in ’24

Earlier this year, river cleanup nonprofit
Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful™
(KTnRB) celebrated officially achieving
their “2024 Goal to Remove 200,000 lbs.
of Trash” with 200,056 lbs. removed by
692 volunteers.
But they aren’t resting on their laurels.
Next up: In 2025, they aim to remove 1
million pounds of trash and recycling, and
1 million cigarette butts. And at mid-year,
the group is well on their way, thanks
to generous businesses such as Clayton
Home Building Group®.
It’s all part of the Clayton Home
Building Group’s three-year commitment
to support KTnRB’s river cleanup efforts.
To date, those joint efforts have rallied
4,540 volunteers to remove 836,296 lbs. of
trash at 208 cleanups. remove 31,115 lbs. of trash from Norris through the program.
“The phenomenal aspect of our Lake in New Tazewell. This set KTnRB With the 2025 cleanup schedule already
partnership with Clayton is that they’re all records of “most trash removed at a single underway, Clayton team members joined
in, from offering sponsorship support, to cleanup” as well as “most volunteers KTnRB’s first cleanup in January on
organizing river cleanups with their staff, participating in a single cleanup.” Douglas Lake in Dandridge, where flood
to participating in our Cigarette Litter In all, Clayton team members have outfall from Hurricane Helene had left
Prevention and Recycling Program,” said participated in KTnRB river cleanups on excessive amounts of manmade debris
Kathleen Gibi, KTnRB Executive Director. six bodies of water, including: along the lake shorelines.
“Because of Clayton’s immersive · Norris Lake of the Clinch River Although the bay launch site was frozen
participation in serving their river (Tennessee) solid that morning, preventing the KTnRB
community, they will be helping us to · Douglas Lake of the French Broad River boat from entering the water (a first-time
reach not one, but two milestones this (Tennessee) experience for the nonprofit), volunteers
year: removing one million pounds of · Cherokee Lake of the Holston River walked along the surrounding shoreline
trash from waterways and recycling one (Tennessee) and still managed to remove 2,418 lbs. of
million cigarette butts,” she said. · Fort Loudoun Lake of the Tennessee trash in just a few hours.
Since partnering with KTnRB in 2023, River (Tennessee) Gibi said that last year’s devastating
Clayton team members have volunteered · Pickwick Lake of the Tennessee River weather events “have left us with a lot
at KTnRB cleanups in Tennessee, (Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee) of work to do, but the commitment of
Alabama, and Mississippi in areas near · Cedar Creek Reservoir of the Bear partners like Clayton Home Building
Clayton home building and supply Creek Reservoir System (Alabama) Group are giving us a strong leg up in
facilities. To date, 741 Clayton team In addition to removing trash from our efforts.”
members have removed 138,814 lbs. of waterways, KTnRB also is focused on “We’re so grateful for Clayton’s
trash from the Tennessee River watershed. removing cigarette butts from waterways. commitment to help us protect our
Through the years, not only have the “Littered cigarettes in waterways leak precious watershed, which is not only our
Clayton team members added big numbers dangerous chemicals that can be toxic to drinking water source, but is considered
to the KTnRB cleanup statistics, they’ve aquatic organisms,” Gibi said. to be the most biodiverse river system in
set records as well. On Feb. 10, 2023, 82 To support that program, Clayton North America. It generates $12 billion
Clayton team members helped remove sponsored 100 educational art-wrapped a year in the recreation industry alone,”
28,696 lbs. of trash from Douglas Lake in cigarette receptacles in locations along she said.
Dandridge in just a few hours. the Tennessee River watershed. Since For more information about joining
Not to be outdone, 172 Clayton team September 2023, 63,800 cigarette butts Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s river
members from another facility turned out have been collected in the receptacles and cleanup and litter prevention efforts, please
at the next cleanup on March 24, 2023, to recycled into outdoor plastic furniture visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org.

10 TPW May/June 2025