Massive Cleanup at Chickamauga Lake

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Volunteers rolled up their sleeves this weekend to make a big impact on the Tennessee River, hauling out thousands of pounds of trash during a major cleanup effort on Chickamauga Lake. 

This past Saturday, more than 20 volunteers joined forces with “Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful” for the 5th annual Chickamauga Lake Cleanup, sponsored by iSustain. 

In just one day, the volunteers removed over 7,300 pounds of trash. That is the most ever collected during a single iSustain-sponsored event. 

The haul included 111 bags of trash, 21 tires, 27 steel drums, 396 square feet of Styrofoam, and even half of a pontoon deck. 

This year’s event was backed by a seventy-five-hundred-dollar scholarship from iSustain Recycling, a national sustainability company helping lead environmental efforts. 

Since the partnership began, 149 volunteers have removed more than thirty-three thousand pounds of trash from Chickamauga Lake.

The event also included support from Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful and local businesses like Absolute Waste Management, which donated dumpsters for the cause.

To date, Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful has removed nearly one million pounds of trash along the 652-mile river.