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Published: Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2009 / Updated: Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2009 03:50 PM

It's time to take out the trash

TEGA CAY -- 

Veteran volunteers from Lake Wylie's annual fall clean-up sometimes have a hard time believing their lake holds any more trash. Yet, they promise, anyone willing to lace up a pair of boots and pull on some gloves will have plenty of junk on their hands.

“I assure you there's plenty still out there,” said C.D. Collins, Lake Wylie Covekeeper and one of several organizers of Riversweep on Lake Wylie.

This year Riversweep comes Saturday, Oct. 3, with collection sites all along the lake pulling anything from paper and Styrofoam pieces to large chunks of debris out of the lake. Locally, volunteers are meeting at the Tega Cay Marina.

The event runs 9 a.m. to noon, with unloading following and an after party after that at Buster Boyd Access Area. This year the party will be held outside until 4 p.m., featuring a live band and food for volunteers.

“There's a fair amount new this year,” Collins said. “Being outside is different, having the band is different and we're expecting to have a lot more people this year.”

In past years, Riversweep drew 250-300 people, but this year organizers expect as many as 500. New locations came onboard for the eighth annual event, and Riversweep even has a new sponsor with Coca-Cola's new product, Aquarius Spring.

“I think it's grown every year,” said Susan Bromfield, president of the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce, another event sponsor. “It's hard to tell because everyone's so spread out over 325 miles of shoreline.”

This year Riversweep takes place at nine collection sites, equipped with dumpsters and volunteers assisting anyone looking for a place to serve. New is Tailrace Marina on Tuskaseegee Road in Mount Holly, operated by Rowboat Dock & Dredge.

“A good many of our patrons there are very interested in making sure that that stretch of the river keeps clean, and we wanted to help,” said Larry Harrelson, chief financial officer of the company. “We thought we could be a good staging area for that kind of effort, so we decided to do it basically for all our patrons and their interest in flatwater paddling.”

That type of effort, Collins said, is what makes Riversweep such a popular and meaningful event each year. Items pulled from the lake, along with smaller trash, include everything from washing machines and tires to refrigerators and – two years ago when drought uncovered much of the lake – appliances dating back to the 1950s.

“The community has really gotten behind us and made it possible to keep having this,” Collins said. “This is the kind of stuff where, if it's left it'd stay in there forever.”

The event, though, is not all labor. Volunteers get their names entered in raffles for prizes, and anyone interested in membership with the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation also might receive small gifts. Several groups will set up information tables, and T-Bones on the Lake will again provide food and drink for volunteers.

In the seven previous years, Collins said, Riversweep is responsible for 330,000 pounds of trash removed from Lake Wylie. Marinas and companies already plan to help again this year, but to ensure another big pull organizers still need pontoon boats and boat captains. Dumpsters will remain on-site at the collection locations through Sunday. Because organizers know that even with the extraordinary effort expected, there will always be more to do.

“We've picked up so many times,” Bromfield said, “but there's still more garbage.”

Locations are Allison Creek, Buster Boyd, Copperhead Island and Ebenezer Park access areas, along with Harbortown, River Hills, Tailrace and Tega Cay Marina, and the South Carolina side of Seven Oaks Bridge. For more information, call 704-825-3588 or visit catawbariverkeeper.org.