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Volunteers help remove an estimated 2,000 pounds of trash from Summit County’s Blue River

The Blue River Watershed Group hosted the annual river cleanup as part of its Blue River Festival

A volunteer helps remove trash from the Blue River on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. The Blue River Watershed Group estimates that more than 200 volunteers helped remove an estimated 4,000 pounds of trash from the river during the annual river cleanup.
Blue River Watershed Group/Courtesy photo

Thanks to the help of volunteers, almost two tons of trash has been removed from in and around the Blue River.

The Blue River Watershed Group last Saturday, Sept. 7, hosted a river cleanup as part of its annual Blue River Festival. Throughout the morning Saturday, dozens of volunteers donned gloves to clean up stretches of the river in Silverthorne, Frisco, Dillon and Breckenridge.

“We had a record-breaking 200 volunteers cleaning up the river and surrounding areas, making a huge difference for our environment and the wildlife that depends on these waters,” Blue River Watershed Group events coordinator Rose Adler-Rephan said in an email. “This festival is a reminder of how much we can achieve when we come together as a community.”



Adler-Rephan said that 208 people signed up to volunteer for the event and more joined that morning without signing up. That is more than the estimated 160 people who participated in the river cleanup last year, she said. A total of 26 groups participated.

The Blue River Watershed Group estimates that the teams removed almost 4,000 pounds of trash this year, more than the 1,500 pounds the group estimates it removed from the river last year.



“The amount of trash and weeds we cleaned up this year nearly tripled from last year,” Adler said. “To say we are amazed would be an understatement.”


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