There is no such thing as a lazy river when Renew Our Rivers is on the case.

On a sunny, muggy Saturday afternoon, the Tallapoosa River was filled with kayakers and canoeists looking for trash. The cleanup Aug. 9 in Heflin drew about 40 people of all ages working to make “Alabama the Beautiful” a little more so.

This marks the 15th year of the Renew Our Rivers program. Started by a Plant Gadsden employee on the Coosa River in 2000, the effort has expanded to four states and six river systems. More than 10.5 million pounds of trash have been removed from Alabama’s rivers and streams.

The cleanup, sponsored by Tallapoosa River Outfitters, was a family affair, with sons and daughters picking up trash alongside their parents. This author was joined by two precocious but polite youngsters who helped fill a jumbo-sized garbage bag with litter strewn in a clearing in the woods.

The water itself was swift and opaque from a summer rain the night before, making trash-spotting a bit more difficult. It resembled Willy Wonka’s river of chocolate, only with volunteers in brightly colored boats paddling and poking their plastic pickup wands into the surface.

The owner of Tallapoosa River Outfitters, Bart Owen, and his employees drove volunteers to the river and lent out their kayaks and canoes for free. T-shirts were handed out, and a barbecue was held later in the day.

— John Herr