More than 21,000 volunteers are coming together to clean up over 3,000 miles of the Ohio River and its shoreline

CHARLESTON, WV – Volunteers in 11 West Virginia counties are gearing up for the 31st annual Ohio River Sweep, set for Saturday. The massive cleanup is organized by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), with help from several states’ environmental protection and natural resource agencies.

More than 21,000 volunteers from six states – West Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania – come together each year to remove more than 20,000 tons of trash and other debris from the banks of the Ohio River and its tributaries.

The cleanup encompasses the entire length of the river, from its origin in Pittsburgh to its end in Cairo, Ill., and covers more than 3,000 miles of shoreline.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) is coordinating West Virginia’s participation in the River Sweep. Cleanups are scheduled at 18 sites in 11 counties: Brooke, Cabell, Hancock, Jackson, Marshall, Mason, Ohio, Pleasants, Tyler, Wetzel and Wood. Cleanup supplies and T-shirts will be provided.

ORSANCO is an interstate water pollution agency for the Ohio River Valley. The cleanup is sponsored by AEP River Operations, CSX, Dominion Foundation, Dow Corning Foundation, DuPont Washington Works, Marathon Oil Corporation, and West Virginia American Water.

For more WVDEP news and information, go to www.dep.wv.gov. Also, connect with the agency on all social media platforms. Follow @DEPWV on Twitter, Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/depwv/, and find us on YouTube at Environment Matters.