It’s that time of year again. September signals one of the Lake Lanier Association’s flagship events: Shore Sweep. While the actual formal volunteer day is Saturday, September 19, the organization has again opened advance drop-off sites to collect trash, garbage, dock floats and other debris.
“Advance drop-off sites around the lake will be open from September 8-18, and we encourage people to start collecting early and dropping off trash at these unmanned sites,” said Bonny Putney, board member and chair of Shore Sweep. “Having advanced sites before Shore Sweep has helped us collect record-breaking amounts of trash and debris as well as extending the time that it takes to round up the large numbers of dock floats around the lake.”
Putney said that for the past two years many of the dock builders have assisted in bringing the black encapsulated dock floats to the advance sites.
“It’s difficult for individuals to tow these water-soaked floats to the shore using their personal watercraft,” she said. “Our dock builders have certainly gotten on board with helping keep Lake Lanier clean, not only related to Shore Sweep but throughout the year.”
Over the past 37 years, Shore Sweep volunteers have removed more than 2.58 million pounds of trash, debris and garbage from the shorelines, islands and waters of the lake.
“Each year it seems like we’re setting new records for collection around Shore Sweep,” Putney said. “While these numbers are impressive, it’s a shame that there’s so much trash on and around Lake Lanier.”
Registration is encouraged for Shore Sweep at lakelanier.org. Details including maps with GPS coordinates and site locations are also available website.
