More Than 35 Tons Of Trash Collected During Annual Ohio River Sweep

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Hundreds of volunteers collected more than 35 tons of trash from the Ohio River on Saturday morning.

River Sweep coordinator Betsy Mallison says more than 400 people volunteered to clean up 15 sites in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver and Westmoreland counties for the 28th annual River Sweep.

In addition to the 35 tons of trash, volunteers found more than 55 tires, baby dolls, a kiddie pool, a football and a blender.

"The really small pieces of garbage, like gum wrappers and cigarette butts, and small pieces that you might walk past and not notice, but it has a huge impact on the waterways and the ecosystems," Friends of Riverfront executive director Valerie Beichner said, "so we're out here trying to gather as much as we can and keep the area clean and clear so that when we have rain events, the garbage doesn't go down into the river and degrade our waterways."

Volunteers in six states participate in River Sweep events to clean up litter and debris along more than 2,400 miles of the Ohio River shoreline.