Hundreds help clean up Percy Priest Lake

Hundreds help clean up Percy Priest Lake Wkrn Channel 2 News Volunteers waited in line Saturday morning, eager to get their hands on the miles of garbage polluting the islands on Percy Priest Lake. Ronnie Baugus said the lake is more polluted now than in the past. "I've been here for about 30 years and it used to be pristine and perfectly clean and nice and wooded," Baugus said. Mark Thien, who helped organize the Nashville Clean Water Project, said, "It just looks like the entrance to a landfill." On one of the islands, you can't walk more than a few inches without running into garbage, some of which has been here for years. Everything from tires to plastic bottles and old Styrofoam coolers litter the beach area. Thien says most of the 213 miles of shoreline are the same. "It feels not so great that we have such a problem that it takes 800 people have to do it. But it feels good that people care. They do care," Thien said. "It's just amazing how somebody can just leave stuff here that's recyclable or can be taken home," Nick Ritchie said. Boatloads of trash were filled up and transported back to the shore. By midday, the five dumpsters were almost already full -- and more people lined up and boarded boats to begin the process all over again. Peg McNab, also a volunteer, said, "I'm glad to see such a big crowd. It gives me hope." Organizers say they hope to make this clean up effort an annual kick off to boating season.