In collaboration with organizations in the New River Gorge, New River Clean Water Alliance and New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, is taking the plastic free idea to the New River Gorge with “No New Plastic,” a series of four summertime pop-up recycling and educational outreach events taking place throughout the New River Gorge from June – September. The first pop-up on Friday, June 14 will be held at Fayette Station, Fayetteville, and on Saturday, June 15 at Sandstone Falls downstream from Hinton. Both events will be held from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Other events will take place in July, August and September.
Information on responsible recycling, Leave No Trace, and the importance of stewardship will be available at each event, plus giveaways from partners and fun recycling activities for kids of all ages. The goal of this initiative, and others currently being planned, is to help the New River Gorge be plastic free by 2032 – just eight years from now.
The waters in Southern Appalachia host more than half of the 850-plus freshwater fish species found in the United States and Canada, plus more than 600 mussel and snail species, and over 250 species of crayfish. Yet, 35,000 pounds of trash was removed from the New River in 2023, most of which were plastic beverage bottles. Americans use 60,000,000 single use plastic bottles every day, you can reduce that number by drinking from a reusable water bottle. If we changed just this one habit, we could change the state of the watershed. For instance, switching to a reusable water bottle can save an average of 30 bottles a month from use and trash.
Participating partners include New River Gorge National Park and Preserve (NERI), New River Conservancy – New River Clean Water Alliance, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV DEP), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority, Town of Fayetteville, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), and West Virginia State Parks (WVSP). Stay tuned to social media pages for more locations and updates.
