Allegheny CleanWays Plastic Magnet 1 barge scoops up riverfront litter and tires

A new barge to collect trash on Pittsburgh rivers, Plastic Magnet 1, removed 82 tires and more than 4,800 pounds of plastic and other trash from the the Monongahela River during a recent river cleanup.

Allegheny CleanWays is midway through a two-week sweep of the Allegheny County portion of the Mon. The group is working with community leaders in Forward Township, Monongahela, New Eagle, Bunola and Elizabeth.

“While tires are plentiful, plastics continue to make up the largest quantity of what we collect from the riverfront,” said Myrna Newman, executive director of Allegheny CleanWays.

In the first three days of the cleanup alone, more than 3,000 pounds of plastic was collected, she said.

The cleanup series will finish at the Point from noon until 3 p.m. Sunday, where the public can stop by and have an opportunity to see an array of items picked up during the cleanup.

A crew of two Allegheny CleanWays employees is living in a houseboat during the series. Evan Clark and Hannah Hohman, of Millvale, have been able to collect more litter because of their newly acquired pontoon barge, Plastic Magnet 1.

“We’re sitting on the boat now with 200 tires,” Clark said on Thursday. “With the barge, we have quadrupled our efficiency. We can pick up and carry so much more without making lots of stops.

“It’s exciting. You can see the volume of the work done.”

Allegheny CleanWays is in need of volunteers. Learn more by visiting their website.