Renew Our Rivers cleanup in Pass Christian nets 9 tons of trash
The second day of fall brought more than 70 volunteers to the Henderson Point area of Pass Christian for the fifth Renew Our Rivers cleanup of 2016.
Volunteers worked on foot and in canoes, kayaks and boats to remove trash and debris from Henderson Point, Mallini Bayou and Johnson Bayou.
When the last bag of debris was collected, the volunteers picked up more than 9 tons of trash from the three bodies of water.
Tracy Yanez, Mississippi Power Community Affairs account executive, noticed more and more litter among the marsh grasses around the bayou. She recruited Senior Marketing Analyst Meg Payment, who lives in the area, and the two began engaging local partners on the idea of a Renew Our Rivers cleanup.
“Meg and I share a passion for the health and beauty of these waterways,” Yanez said. “This is the first cleanup in this area, but our hope is to gradually extend to the north side of the Bay of St. Louis and include the lower part of the Wolf River and Bayou Acadian.”
Like many other Renew Our Rivers events, Mississippi Power employees were joined by volunteers from several partners. Coast Electric Power Association, Chemours, Gulf Coast Prestress Partners, Harrison County and the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain all provided volunteers to haul litter and debris.
“We have a sustainability committee that blends in well with this event,” said Duane Wilson, Chemours Public Affairs manager. “We’re located so close to this area and we have a strong outreach for the community, so this was just a really good fit.”
Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and environmentally responsible energy for more than 186,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. Mississippi Power earned the 2015 ReliabilityOneTM Award for outstanding midsize utility for excellence in storm restoration and recovery efforts as well as being a leader in reliability, customer service and safety. Visit our websites at www.mississippipower.com and www.mississippipowernews.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube.