ULM Students, Volunteers Collect 150 Pounds of Litter from Local Water Ways

Over the weekend, students at the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) participated in a water cleaning event, removing debris from local waterways.

The event took place on September 16 where Keep ULM Beautiful hosted a location for Ouachita Green’s Water Sweep 2023. The water cleanup event saw volunteers participate in cleaning up trash, plastic, marine litter, and other pollution from the water and surrounding areas.

After the event, the crews cleaned up approximately 150 pounds of debris from the waterways.

“We had 64 participants for this event. When we weighed and calculated, taking out the water weight and the weight of the bags used, we found that we collected 110.88 lbs. of litter/trash/debris and 39.69 lbs. of recyclable litter for a total of 149.69 lbs.! That is an approximate average of 2.34 lbs. per participant,” said Andrew Hardee, Keep ULM Beautiful University Affiliate Coordinator.

Faculty, staff, and administrators from ULM joined students in the cleanup event.

“The Water Sweep cleanup was fun but also beneficial. I specifically walked in places on campus that I don’t usually walk, and I was surprised at the amount of things that were found in the bayou. Keeping ULM beautiful is not just about the campus, it’s about us and shows a greater pride in how we feel about our campus,” said Kendall Morton, a senior in the College of Arts, Education, and Sciences.

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