A car headlight, one tire and several tennis balls were just some of the garbage pulled from the murky waters of the South Platte River.
More than 100 volunteers came out for the sixth annual South Platte River Cleanup Saturday, each doing their part aboard a kayak, raft, stand-up paddleboard, bike or even on foot to clear trash from banks and riverbed.
“You could fill a garbage bag with cigarette butts, cans,” said Scott Wells, who helped organize the cleanup. “Grocery bags are by far the main culprit.”
The Earth Day event was a joint effort with the Greenway Foundation, an organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the South Platte River.
Volunteers, armed with long-handled “litter pickers” and rubber gloves, launched their kayaks, rafts and canoes from the Union Chutes near West Union Avenue and South Santa Fe Drive.
As they made their way downriver, volunteers maneuvered to the banks and bends, where they fished soggy plastic bags and bottles out of the water. On average, volunteers remove 1 ½ tons of garbage from the river and adjacent bike path each year.
“The idea is to go out and get as much garbage as you can,” Wells said. “Obviously it’s not hard to find.”
Volunteers biked, walked, paddled or floated 6 miles downstream to the Johnson Habitat Park, located along Interstate 25 and Santa Fe Drive. There they collected their trash and gathered for an after party.
The Thursday. Officials are to use $265,500 for restoration work along the river, including accelerated recreation-oriented improvements at the Johnson Habitat Park.
Low water levels made floating in the river, which runs along major thoroughfares such as I-25 and Santa Fe Drive, difficult for some rafts. It did, however, make the garbage easier to find.
“There are plenty of people willing to get into the nasty water, but imagine how many more would be willing to do it if we cleaned it up,” Wells said.
Alex Manzo stood on his board as he paddled forward, guiding others along the river. Manzo has volunteered for the cleanup several times.
“People enjoy doing this because they feel like they are part of a family — the river family,” Manzo said.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
