Trash to treasure: Norris Lake gets love
Stephanie Wells, director of the Anderson County Tourism Council, checks in a barge full of trash at the dock in Anderson County Park that was collected Saturday morning during the annual spring cleanup conducted by the Norris Lake Project Team. Wells was coordinator of the event. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
“We filled up a 30-cubic-yard dumpster at Anderson County Park, and volunteers in Union County also filled up a 30-yard dumpster,” cleanup coordinator Stephanie Wells, director of the Anderson County Tourism Council/Adventure Anderson County, said Monday.
“They were taking a trailer load of trash from Union County today,” she said. “We also collected 20 tires.”
The cleanup, which included parts of the lake in Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Union, and Grainger counties, took place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday from the base at Anderson County Park, and from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday from Hickory Star and Beach Island marinas.
“This event aims to preserve the natural beauty and conserve the resources of the Norris Lake Watershed area,” the project team’s website says.
Boats were used to take volunteers to and from designated cleanup areas that are inaccessible by land.
Barges were used to bring collected trash back to shore, with one huge load arriving at the dock at Anderson County Park around 11 a.m. Saturday, including lots of Styrofoam.
According to its website, the Norris Lake Project Team is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to preserving the natural beauty and conserving the resources of the Norris Lake Watershed area.
“Working in collaboration with local governments, the team aims to combat the deterioration of natural resources in the surrounding communities,” the posting notes.
Managing partners include the Anderson County Tourism Council, Campbell County Chamber of Commerce, Union County Chamber of Commerce, Claiborne County Mayor’s Office, Middle East Tennessee Tourism Council, Tennessee Valley Authority, Norris Dam State Park, Big Ridge State Park, Anderson County Litter Grant and Campbell County Litter Control.
Coordinator Stephanie Wells, director of Adventure Anderson County, said the group has been conducting annual spring and fall cleanups for more than 12 years, with the litter-clearing efforts spanning all of the counties along Norris Lake.
The group runs a cleanup in the fall on the islands in the lake, Wells said.
“People camp on the islands during the summer, then leave their trash, tents, or whatever they’ve constructed when they leave. We preach ‘leave no trace’ practices.”
Volunteers are the heart of the operations.
“We usually have 100 to 150 participants now,” Wells said. “It’s grown so much. We concentrate on one weekend. We also have some marinas and homeowner associations along the lake to conduct their own cleanups either the weekend before or after our events.”
Wells said some of the trash and debris on the lake and its banks is there accidentally, but much of it comes from intentional littering.
“Some of it comes off of boats, some Styrofoam comes off docks in the winter,” she said. “Some of the trash floats down from upstream. We do some programs to educate about avoiding their intentional littering.
“We have seen a lot of improvement over the years,” she said. “Sometimes once we do a cleanup, it deters people from doing it again. Often, trash begets more trash.”
