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Greenville Rotary Clubs, the City of Greenville and Sound Rivers made the most of rainy day, collecting a trailer-load of trash from the Tar River.

The Rotary Club’s annual Splash for Trash cleanup had been previously postponed because high, fast-moving water from torrential rains in late July made safety an issue. On Saturday, the water was fine, but the weather was left something to be desired.

“It was pouring pretty much all morning and didn’t let up until around 11:30, right before it was ending,” Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman laughed. “But it did not stop everyone from coming out to Town Common and picking up some trash in the river.”

Katey said approximately 25 people turned out for the event: some picked up trash on dry land, others took to the Tar in kayaks, and three powerboat pilots ferried full garbage bags and larger items from the volunteers back to Town Common.

“We referred to one place as ‘Trash Island,’” Katey said. “There was a huge, fallen tree right downstream from the Town Common boat launch, and it had stopped logs and debris on the way down the river, but it also stopped so much trash, it looked like an island. It looked terrible, but it was a good thing the tree was there because it stopped all the trash for us to pick up, otherwise it would have been scattered down the river.”

Interesting finds in the Tar River included a plastic slide from a children’s playground set and another chotchke to add to Katey’s growing collection of figurines of animated characters: this one of Spongebob Squarepants.

Though the weather didn’t cooperate, Katey said Splash for Trash was a great event, regardless.

“In the end, we all had a good time and did something good for the environment,” she said.

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(All photos are courtesy of the City of Greenville)