Kayaks to be provided for Kiski River Sweep volunteers

A local outfitter will provide kayaks to Kiski River Sweep volunteers on Saturday so they can cover about a 5-mile stretch of the river from North Vandergrift to Leechburg.

For about a decade, the River’s Edge Canoe and Kayak rental in Gilpin has been offering up its vessels for volunteers to scour the river banks for litter, said John Linkes, a long-time volunteer who has led the Kiski River Sweep for about 20 years. The Kiski Watershed Association is coordinating the event.

“I’ll go to my grave finding tires,” he said. “It’s a never-ending battle.”

Litter along the Kiski tends to be items that residents can’t dispose of easily, Linkes said. He said he has found junk such as plastic playground equipment, sliding boards, plastic pools and televisions.

The Kiski River cleanup is a part of the multi-state River Sweep program, which curtailed its large cleanup this year and last year because of the pandemic, said West Deer’s Betsy Mallison, the founder and coordinator of the event in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Although River Sweep is in its 31st year, there’s still a need for it, Mallison said, recalling unusual finds over the years such as a piano, mannequins, a telephone booth, a gun and a class ring.

After three decades of collecting litter along rivers and waterways, Mallison said things have changed. In the 1990s, there was more illegal dumping, especially tires and construction materials.

“PA CleanWays and (the state Department of Environmental Protection) have made a big dent in illegal dumping,” Mallison said. Today’s litter includes items like plastic bottles and food and beverage containers. “We got to work on people’s behavioral issues.”