Mississippi River levels continue to drop, groups clean up trash

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Amazing sites have been uncovered by the historically low Mississippi River levels, but there is also plenty of trash.

Community members along with the Louisiana military are using this time to pick up things that may have washed up the river’s bank.

Jennifer Richardson is the founder of a group called Keep Tiger Town Beautiful and said it is the perfect time for communities to clean up debris and clear out what is left behind.

“There are a lot of rocks and weeds out there. In between all that, there’s litter, and so it’s just an opportune time to pick up,” said Richardson.

Sergent Kendra Leshoure with the Baton Rouge Recruiting Battalion and other soldiers walk up and down the river’s bank to find things like rope, a bike, a propane tank and plastic.

“Hopefully, this does do some good for the river. People can throw a lot of trash in rivers and stuff like that, which ultimately harms anything that’s in it,” said Sgt. Leshoure.

Volunteers hope to inspire the Baton Rouge community to help keep the Mississippi River clean. They are urging people who visit or pass by to use caution.

“Tie off your garbage bags. If you put stuff in the back of a truck, please tie everything off because that’s all the litter that you see alongside the interstate,” said Richardson.

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2022 WAFB. All rights reserved.