Chickamauga Lake Clean Up with Keep the TN River Beautiful

Chickamauga Lake Clean Up with Keep the TN River Beautiful

Last year iSustain sponsored the Chickamauga Lake Cleanup Weekend with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that serves as the first Keep America Beautiful affiliate in the nation to focus solely on a river. All of us at iSustain enjoyed the weekend event so much that we sponsored it again this year! 

“Both times I have gone out with Keep Tennessee River Beautiful I have had mixed emotions. I felt saddened that so many people are careless with their waste not thinking how it effects the wildlife and all of us that live in the TN River area.

But then I am excited to be working for a company and a group of people who selflessly take time from their lives to make a difference. 

It is truly an amazing program I can’t wait for the next time!!!”

– Ava Davis, iSustain Employee

Thank you to those who helped with the Chickamauga Lake Clean Up.

Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful, and Chickamauga Fly, Bait and Tackle assisted us with volunteers, Priority Waste donated a 30-yard dumpster for the two cleanups (which we filled completely), and many of our own staff members at iSustain volunteered their Friday and Saturday to cleaning Lake Chickamauga. 

The total weight of trash pulled on Friday was an astonishing 2,578 lbs. including 68 bags of litter, 3 tires, 68 sq ft of dock styrofoam, 3 barrels, and 2 dock floats. On Saturday the total weight pulled was an even more staggering 3,948 lbs. of trash, including 74 bags of litter, 9 tires, 1 semi tire, 291 sq ft of dock styrofoam, 88 lbs of scrap metal, a dock float, a ’no wake’ buoy, and a fire hose. 

These numbers add up to an incredible 3+ tons of trash. Truly a job well done by everyone involved.

“The river cleanup efforts this past weekend taught me how much our plastic waste affects the local wildlife population. For example, when we arrived at one river cove that had trash litter covering almost every inch of the ground, we watched a deer try to navigate through that trash.  

After our team spent just a couple of hours in this cove, every piece of trash was picked up.   That cove is home for that deer and we were like the much needed house keepers coming in and making it beautiful for that deer once again.  It felt really good!

I was surprised how just a couple of hours spent cleaning up an area on the river could turn what looked like a man made environmental disaster area into a beautiful nature preserve once again.”

– Colby Rodgers, iSustain Employee

Thank You, Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful.

In 2022 alone, Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful has worked with 280 volunteers to remove 84,240 lbs. of trash from the Tennessee River watershed. They dedicate their time and energy to cleanups like these throughout the year across the state. If you would like to join in making a difference, volunteers can learn more here! iSustain is proud to sponsor (and volunteer at) cleanups led by Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful because they are good people doing the good work.

“We’re proud to call iSustain our partner in the effort to keep this precious river system clean and beautiful for generations to come.

They’re setting a great example as an environmental business that practices what they preach by literally getting out and getting their hands dirty to help our planet.”

– Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful