This coverage is made possible through a partnership between BPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
A lot of big items, like cars and trailers, have been cleaned out from Western North Carolina rivers after Helene - but there is still a lot of smaller trash throughout the region’s creeks and streams.
This week, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and environmental group MountainTrue announced a new initiative to get smaller waterways cleaned up.
MountainTrue Clean Waters Director Hartwell Carson said it’s an expansion of an effort that’s been ongoing since the spring, when the environmental group organized small crews to pick up garbage on the rivers. Many of these crewmembers were outdoor workers left unemployed after Helene.
“When the storm hit, I was just sort of devastated at what we all saw,” Carson said. “Rivers being trashed, homes washed away and businesses ruined.”
They picked up 3 million pounds of trash, but thought they could do even more.
Carson talked with state legislators about the scope of the problem and lobbied for debris cleanup funding as a part of North Carolina’s Disaster Recovery Act of 2025. He said DEQ was a strong advocate for the funding, and they’ve also been a partner in planning the scope of the work.
“We’re committed to helping Western North Carolina recover and rebuild, and this investment will help clean up debris still left in our rivers,” said Reid Wilson, Secretary of the NC Department of Environmental Quality. “This initiative represents a critical opportunity to restore our waterways, protect our communities, and support local economies dependent on outdoor recreation and tourism.”
The project includes $10 million allocated to DEQ, which the agency granted to MountainTrue.
MountainTrue will oversee the implementation of the project, including cleanup site selection, crew safety training and supervision, volunteer coordination and community outreach, program monitoring and reporting, and marketing and donor engagement.
Around 80 people will be employed for 18 months to clean Helene debris from waterways - mostly the small stuff, like plastic bags and personal items.
They’ll be working throughout the region, including in Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey counties, and on the Qualla Boundary with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
According to Carson, there will be both crew member and crew leader jobs available, paying at least $20 per hour, with full benefits, paid time off, and 401K benefits.
“It’ll be appealing for folks in the outdoor recreation industry,” Carson said. “Sometimes those jobs aren’t good-paying or don’t come with benefits.”
Jon Stamper, MountainTrue’s River Cleanup Coordinator, says they’re hoping to continue employing people who have experienced difficulties after Helene.
“The goal is to hire local people that are a part of these communities that have been impacted by Helene to get out there and continue the effort of removing the debris,” Stamper said.
“It’s going to come at no cost to the private property landowners,” he added.
MountainTrue will be contacting landowners for permission to access right-of-ways, and they encourage interested landowners to reach out.
More information for landowners and prospective job applicants can be found at https://mountaintrue.org/cleanup-crew/.
