Get Trashed: Inside the Community River Cleanup by & for East Coast Anglers

Great climbers love their crags, enthusiastic hikers adore their trails, and experienced anglers devote themselves to the preservation of their local waterways and wildlife. Inspired by like-minded friends out in Colorado, the crew behind Hawley, PA-based Housefly Fishing has been organizing its own annual community river cleanup since 2017.

While no river deserves to be treated as dumping grounds for the lazy and environmentally negligent, the east and west branches of the Upper Delaware hold a special place in the heart of many East Coast anglers due to the robust wild trout population that call it home. During the annual "Get Trashed" event, scores of fly fishers from Pennsylvania and the Tri-State Area take to the river by boat and on foot to pull a shockingly wide range of garbage out of its waters.

Ahead of this year's clean-up event—to be held Friday & Saturday, 15-16 August—we spoke with Housefly founder's Tim Miller and Chris Calabrese to learn more about how the event came to be, how its changed since year one, and the most surprising things people have withdrawn from the waters. With any luck, you'll learn a thing or two, and maybe feel inspired to start your own community cleanup event to better your local waters, trails, or beach.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How and when did the first river clean up get started, and who was involved in putting it together?

We did our first event at the Delaware River Club in 2017. Get Trashed clean ups were started by our friends in Colorado a few years prior and they wanted to bring them to other rivers that needed some TLC. Jeff White who runs the DRC was all in and has let us make a huge mess there every August for the past 7 years!

What are some of the more predictable pieces of junk pulled out of the water, and the more surprising ones?

Tires are a biggie, we’ve pulled over 500 tires out of the river since we’ve started the clean ups. A couple of years ago, our friend Doc and his crew spent the entire day digging out a quarry truck tire. It almost sunk his drift boat. Those photos made the rounds real quick! Sean Witman found a VHS camcorder in a full on Pelican case. We were sure it was going to be some evidence for a murder case, but it was only an old guy walking around his house recording his valuables for insurance purposes.

How has the event changed since that first clean up event? With more people, are you hauling out more trash?

We definitely have lots more people and boats involved! But we're actually pulling less trash out each year. That's a good thing, of course. But it’s funny, repeat volunteers are kind of bummed. They’re like “last year I got 25 tires, I only got one this year.”

What would you want someone to know ahead of time if they were going to attend their first river cleanup?

Bring a tent and a kayak or canoe if you have one. It’s a river cleanup, but it’s also a lot of fun. People usually hang out all night and party. The Delaware River Club encourages camping on their property.

Also our friend Bill at OARS of Hancock generously donates loaner kayaks and canoes to those who don’t have one, but there’s a limited amount. If you have one, please bring it!

And if you can bring a friend. The more the merrier!

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