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Record 'Sweep The Hooch' Collects 7 Tons Of Waste From River

Last weekend's clean up efforts on the Chattahoochee River also included over 500 volunteers.

The largest one-day river cleanup in metro Atlanta collected its largest amount of trash in its short history.

Sweep The Hooch's roughly 580 volunteers removed 7.3 tons of trash from in and around the Chattahoochee River, according to Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.

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Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, along with the National Park Service and the Upper Chattahoochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited, organized the multi-site cleanup on April 12. 

It's the fourth year Sweep The Hooch's volunteers took to the banks and waters of the river to remove the debris. 

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Walkers, waders and paddlers fanned out across 28 sites and spent half a day pulling trash and debris along various sections of the river. An unmeasurable amount of tires, plastic bottles, tennis balls, toys and other items were hauled away.  

“We at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area sincerely appreciate the efforts of all of the volunteers and sponsors in cleaning up the river and trails here,” said Bill Cox, superintendent of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. “This kind of civic involvement led to the creation of this National Park Service unit back in 1978. It’s great to see this kind of spirit is still alive and well in metro Atlanta.”

Organizers were happy to see many Georgia residents join in efforts to clean the river last weekend, which they say speaks to the impressive outreach of the many environmental groups and partners.

"In CRK’s 20 years, more than 800 tons of trash have been removed from the river system due to our efforts," added Tammy Bates, Sweep the Hooch event organizer and CRK’s outings manager. "Our job is not done yet, and we plan to be back in 2015 for another dynamic cleanup."


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