Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series kicked off this past weekend with a 15,700-pound wallop at two cleanups held in East Tennessee.

On Saturday, March 20, a total of 41 volunteers in Roane County removed 9,426 pounds of trash from Watts Bar Lake and 17 volunteers removed 6,286 pounds in Knoxville/Louisville on Sunday, March 21, from Fort Loudoun Lake. The weight included:

Roane County Cleanup                                   Knoxville and Louisville, Tn. Cleanup

248 bags of trash                                              154 bags of trash

45 tires                                                              32 tires

267 lbs. random plastic                                     285 lbs. random plastic

34 lbs. scrap metal                                            360 lbs. scrap metal

8 buckets                                                           Water heater

Abandoned boat (775 lbs.)                                Port-a-john Concrete, metal, foam dock (1,100 lbs.)   Stove

2 tube televisions                                              Tube television

Car/boat battery                                               Washing Machine

2 steel 55-gallon drums                                     HVAC unit

“We are blown away by the ever-increasing enthusiasm and momentum around river cleanup efforts in diverse communities in the Tennessee River watershed,” said Kathleen Gibi, executive director for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB). “The energy is seen in the numbers, like the phenomenal achievements our volunteers made this weekend.”

The Grand Slam Cleanup Series has become an annual tradition for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, hosting cleanups in partnership with national nonprofit, Living Lands & Waters (LL&W), who brings five 30-foot work boats to supplement KTNRB’s boat. The series cleanups are held in four cities within three of the four states touched by the Tennessee River. Two cleanups remain in this year’s series.

2021 GRAND SLAM CLEANUP SERIES SCHEDULE

March 20	Roane County, TN	Watts Bar Lake	9,426 lbs. removed
March 21	Knoxville/Louisville, TN	Fort Loudoun Lake	6,286 lbs. removed
April 9	Luka, MS/Hardin County,TN	Pickwick Lake	Register Here
April 10	The Shoals, AL	Wilson Lake	Register Here

Ms. Gibi attributes the first two events’ successes to solid partnerships from all levels.

The national nonprofit, Living Lands & Waters, brings their five 30-foot work boats and crew to supplement KTNRB’s boat, merging into a small river cleanup fleet for each event in the Grand Slam Cleanup Series.