Montgomery County participated in the annual ReNew the New event, an annual collective New River cleanup effort.
On Saturday, Aug. 26, sixty volunteers to include community members and Montgomery County staff met at the public landing on Whitethorne Road in Blacksburg and spent several hours both in kayaks and canoes on the river and walking along the riverbanks collecting trash. Several bags were filled with trash and several large items were retrieved from the river to include 123 tires and even a kitchen sink.
In total, 2.57 tons of trash was collected along the half-mile stretch of the New River that Montgomery County managed during the event.
Following the clean-up efforts, event volunteers were given a t-shirt and treated to lunch catered by Professional Catering.
Montgomery County was one of five participating localities to participate in the ReNew the New event. Other participants include Floyd County, Giles County, Pulaski County, and the City of Radford. The New River Valley Regional Commission organizes the event annually. To learn more, visit www.renewthenew.org.