Boy Scout troops and staff from Twin River Outfitters (TRO) in Buchanan pulled 198 tires from the Upper James River this summer.

In the 10 years TRO has collected tires, owners Dan and John Mays calculate volunteers and staff working with the company have gathered 1,800 tires between the Lick Run boat ramp at Iron Gate and the Alpine boat landing downriver from Buchanan. Boy Scout troops do river cleanup projects as service projects and as part of the requirements for earning 50-Miler Awards.

While the summer of 2018 marks TRO’s 10th year of doing river cleanups, there are still sections of the river where tires continue to show up. “The bigger question is where are the 1,800 tires coming from?” John Mays asked. Botetourt County provided a dumpster in early August for the tires and the collection filled the 30-yard container. Mays said without the county’s help it’s doubtful the company would be able to continue the cleanup. The record for the most tires on a single canoe was 19, Mays said. Those were collected in the rain by seasonal employee Jack Schulz.