More Ball State students to participate at annual river clean-up

Hundreds of Ball State students and Muncie residents will be pulling thousands of pounds of trash and debris out of the White River during the sixth-annual White River Clean-Up in Muncie.

Melinda Messineo, director of the Freshman Connections at Ball State, has organized a group of about 200 students who will be joining in the clean up, some of whom are returning participants from last year.

Messineo said she thinks it's important for all students to get involved in events such as this around the community.

"It's easy to get a little isolated here on campus," she said. "It gives students an opportunity to connect with the Muncie community."

Alyssa Villablanca, a freshman telecommunications major from Seattle, said she is trying to use the event to get involved and to see more of Muncie.

"I'm looking for opportunities to get involved in anything at all in Muncie," Villablanca said. "Coming from Washington, we're pretty green people. It almost reminds me a little bit of home."

In past years, the program has become used to seeing between 400 and 500 participants show up to help remove various items, such as tires, plastic chairs, engine parts and water bottles, from the river.

During the event in 2008 and 2009, volunteers pulled close to 30,000 pounds of trash and nearly 250 tires out of a 15-mile stretch of the White River that passes through Muncie.

Shareen Wagley, Muncie Sanitary District coordinator, said the event has been a great success in past years and is important for the health of the river.

"The amount of trash we pull from the river is amazing," Wagley said. "Because we do it every year, the amount of trash has gone down but is still high."

To participate in the White River Clean-Up, go to munciedelawarecleanandbeautiful.org to register or go to the event's headquarters at Westside Park before 8 a.m. on Sept. 11.

Ways to keep the White River clean all year

- Reduce the amount of chemicals put on lawns and driveways

- Recycle

- Mulch leaves

- Don't litter

- Don't bag grass when mowing, leave clippings on the lawn