TENNESSEE RIVERKEEPER CLEANS UP MORE THAN 1,100 POUNDS OF TRASH IN WEST NASHVILLE

NASHVILLE, TN — Tennessee Riverkeeper, along with Nature and Nurture and The Pontoon Saloon removed more than 1,100 pounds of aquatic litter from the Cumberland River in West Nashville on Sunday, March 9, 2025.

12 people attended the cleanup and removed 17 tires and 24 bags of trash. Most of the waste removed was tires, plastic bottles, and styrofoam. Tennessee Riverkeeper is already planning the next cleanup on the Cumberland and needs volunteers.

“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 and Nurture said: “This is our first time doing a cleanup of this size. We can’t wait to do more. More hands make less work stays true when it comes to these cleanups. It is incredible the difference a few people can make in a short time. If this cleanup taught me one thing, it is to never use styrofoam again.”

In 2019, Tennessee Riverkeeper launched a microplastics campaign to remove plastic and other litter from waterways, while educating the public about this pollution threat. “Scientists working with National Geographic documented that the Tennessee River is polluted by as many as 16,000 to 18,000 microplastic particles per cubic meter.  This pollution occurs when larger plastics breakdown over time. Experts think that they can last for hundreds of years, and toxicity can ‘biomagnify’ as microplastics build up in the food chain” said David Whiteside, Founder of Tennessee Riverkeeper. (Click here to read that article: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/alarming-level-microplastics-found-tennessee-river

The Cumberland River and its tributaries around Nashville, are often collection zones for litter.  Litter that flies out of garbage trucks or gets thrown out on streets will frequently flow into creeks and rivers after rain events via drainage systems.  Unfortunately, this creates a situation where waterways receive a plethora of plastics.  We now know that this garbage negatively impacts water quality and is much more than just a visible eyesore.

Cleanups organized by Tennessee Riverkeeper have prevented more than 54,000 pounds of litter from entering our waterways.  “These events show that a few people can make a difference, and cleanups provide some hope for hundreds of thousands of citizens who are concerned about our river and its tributaries. Clean water is a nonpartisan issue; we are all in this together,” added David Whiteside.

Captain Andrew Ostrowsky of The Pontoon Saloon said: “We had a beautiful and rewarding day removing a significant amount of tires and rrash from the Cumberland River. Most of this trash is coming from downtown Nashville polluting our river and its tributaries. I do hope our state and local government can see the impacts of not enough action being taken and its downstream impacts to other communities, wildlife, and drinking water.”

“Plastic pollution is a local and global issue. Scientific studies have confirmed that microplastics and chemicals related to the plastic industry are found in humans and wildlife. These cleanups are a great short term solution, but we need bigger solutions that prevent this problem from getting worse,” according to David Whiteside of Tennessee Riverkeeper.