Cleanup blitz planned for Allegheny River in Freeport, New Kensington, Cheswick

Allegheny CleanWays is sponsoring a “cleanup blitz” along the Allegheny River next weekend.

The cleanups will take place in Freeport, New Kensington and Cheswick.

The cleanup blitz is the organization’s strategy for a series of cleanups to define high litter areas for a more extensive cleanup along the Allegheny next year.

Next year — when CleanWays focuses on the Allegheny River — the nonprofit will send two houseboats and a barge for two weeks of cleanups, said Hannah Hohman, CleanWays riverfront cleanup coordinator. The group is concentrating its efforts this year on the Monongahela River.

“We’re still looking for volunteers for this year’s cleanups in Freeport, New Kensington and Cheswick,” Hohman said. “We want people interested now for next year.” Individuals, groups and businesses are welcome.

Staff live on the houseboat during their focused cleanups.

The litter problem along local rivers isn’t so much caused by people hanging out and leaving trash, Hohman said, as it is the washout of litter from storm drains and tributaries leading to the river.

When the water rises, litter is carried from swollen creeks and streets to storm drains to the river banks.

“The majority of the trash is coming from our land,” she said. “That’s the way drainage in watersheds works.”

A few years ago, CleanWays and community volunteers conducted cleanups along the Allegheny, finding litter entering the river from Sandy Creek, Bull Creek and other tributaries, she said.

Single-use plastics — particularly plastic bottles — are the most common trash in the river, Hohman said.

Across the state, the most common litter items are cigarette butts (37%) and plastics (30%), which include food packaging, bottles and bags, according to the 2018-19 Pennsylvania Litter Research Study.

Last year, about 250 volunteers participated in CleanWays events, according to Hohman.