WATAUGA, N.C. — Hannah Woodburn is the watershed outreach coordinator for Mountain True. She works with the Watauga Riverkeeper to make sure the rivers are clean and safe.

Trash Trouts are popping up in the high country

They are a new way of collecting garbage that is heading downstream

Four have been installed and one more will be installed soon

The Trash Trout sits in the middle of the river collecting garbage as it heads downstream. Watauga County was the first of the riverkeepers to have a Trash Trout but now all 15 in the state are using them.

"A majority of what we find is actually Styrofoam, but Styrofoam at its base is actually plastic," Woodburn said.

Woodburn comes out once a week and cleans out the garbage so more can be caught. She finds a lot of plastic.

"Seventy-five percent of what ends up in the trash or aquatic systems comes from land," Woodburn said."Seventy-five percent of what ends up in the trash or aquatic systems comes from land," Woodburn said.

She says it is important that it is caught before it heads downstream. All of the data is logged she said, so they can better communicate with lawmakers to try to make it stop.

"To understand and really see that nearly 90% of what we collect in here is meant to be only used one time like Styrofoam cups and cigarettes," she said.

Since the installation of the first Trash Trout in the high country, they have installed three more and a fifth is on its way. This helps them keep an eye on what trash is ending up where.

"Just thinking about things we use for 15 minutes that are around for the next 500 to a thousand years," Woodburn said.

Woodburn is hoping that by people hearing of the amount of garbage they find, they will be more conscious of what they do with their items when recreating. 

"I think anyone who recreates here has a responsibility to make it a clean and better place for people to come and enjoy," Woodburn said.