1,700 Pounds in Nashville with a Bald Eagle! 🦅

May 14, 2025: Tennessee Riverkeeper removed more than 1,700 pounds of aquatic litter from the Cumberland River in West Nashville. A bald eagle flew over the boat at the start of the cleanup. 🦅

On a Wednesday, 16 people attended the cleanup and removed 33 tires and 21 bags of trash, and lots of large debris. Most of the waste removed was tires, plastic bottles, and styrofoam. The organization is already planning the next cleanup on the Cumberland River and needs your support.

“There is no easy solution to plastic pollution. We do know that preventing plastics from entering waterways is an obvious solution and it is easier to remove garbage from the shorelines and shallow water of creeks and rivers.  It is very difficult and inefficient to try to remove litter from deeper water,” said David Whiteside, of Tennessee Riverkeeper.

PLASTICS — Most of the litter found was made from some form of plastic, the most common being polystyrene (“styrofoam”) and polyethylene (plastic bottles and shopping bags).

Taylin Lewan of Nature Add Nurture said: “We feel honored to be part of such an amazing team, making a real difference for our local environment. Being out on the water, watching eagles soar overhead, makes the day worth it on its own. Knowing we’re helping to clean up the rivers in our backyard adds a real sense of purpose. Every piece of trash removed is a step toward restoring the health and beauty of these waterways for future generations to enjoy. Unfortunately it’s not a one and done process! Volunteers and donors make all of this possible.”

Watch the Channel 5 segment here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UegrFuWeCLE