At a glance
The 22nd Annual Shore Sweep begins at 8 a.m. Saturday and runs until 1 p.m. A volunteer appreciation party with free food, drinks and music is set for 1 to 3 p.m. at Van Pugh Park North in Hall County. For more information, or for a full list of Shore Sweep locations, visit www.lakelanier.org or e-mail lakeinfo@lakelanier.org.
About 1,200 people are expected for Shore Sweep 2010, but there’s always room for more.
The 22nd annual Lake Lanier Association event will take place Saturday at more than a dozen parks and marinas in Forsyth, Hall, Dawson and Gwinnett counties.
In Forsyth, volunteers are welcome to come out at 8 a.m. to Bald Ridge, Habersham or Port Royale marinas, said Joanna Cloud, association executive director.
“They just show up at each location individually,” she said. "There’s a location captain that will hand out maps or trash bags."
Last year, about 1,200 volunteers picked up “easily close to 150 tons” of trash from Lake Lanier, Cloud said.
This year, she’s hoping for more. But the focus this year is on foam, as well as trash.
“They used to build docks with foam and over the years, as docks age, these big, giant foam pieces break off and float away,” she said. “They’re like the size of a twin-size bed mattress.”
Once these chunks of foam are waterlogged, Cloud said they can way upward of 100 pounds, which is why disposing of them takes larger crews.
The cleanup is open to individuals and families, as well as civic groups. Several Rotary Clubs and Boy and Girl Scout troops, as well as service organizations, plan to be there Saturday.
“Everybody loves the lake, it’s such a huge natural resource,” Cloud said. “[The goal] is just to pull out as much trash as we can.”