COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) – More than a year after the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper installed the first wetland trash trap in Columbus, officials say the device has collected over 300 pounds of trash at Cooper Creek Park — and a second trap could be in place before the end of the year.
First of its kind in the country
The floating wetland trap, installed in June of last year, is the first of its kind in America, according to Vanisha Strahota of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. A second now exists elsewhere in Georgia. Unlike other trash traps around the city, the wetland design serves purposes beyond cleanup.
“It’s planted out with 29 native species that are native to Georgia, as well as it’s walkable, it’s floatable, and so you have wildlife that are able to go under it — we see turtles, snakes, and things like that,” Strahota said. “With the native plants that we have in the device it serves as a pollinator habitat and food source for them.”
Addressing a persistent trash problem
Strahota said the trap was brought in at a time when she believed the city needed it most, citing ongoing concerns from Columbus residents about trash in and around the river…