Trash along Jackson County lake shorelines sparked additional clean up efforts

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. — KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail.

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A man who lives in Jackson County noticed a large amount of trash in the water at a county lake. Now he's taking action to clean up the mess.

Steve Nelson and his family noticed the problem while visiting Lake Jacomo.

"Brought them down here, started walking along, and then you just see the filth and disgust," Nelson said.

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Nelson is no stranger to the outdoors and was disappointed by what he found.

"I go out and I study amphibians and reptiles, which is part of the reason you see me along the side of the lakes and things like that," Nelson said.

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He said the trash goes beyond being an eyesore and is harmful to wildlife. At Fleming Park, he pointed out discarded tires and other debris scattered along the water's edge.

"Some of what we're smelling is going to be death, unfortunately," Nelson said.

While at a spot along the shoreline of Lake Jacomo, there were several dead animals mixed in with the trash.

This site is known for fishing and there was trash from fishermen who had been at the lake.

Nelson believes more volunteers could make a real difference.

"With more helping hands, I feel like we might could actually do something," Nelson said.

Tina Spallow, deputy director , park operations at Jackson County Parks and Recreation, said her teams work diligently to clean up the trash, but the effort cannot fall on them alone.

"For people to be that vested in assisting us in what we do every day, we appreciate it so much," Spallow said.

She is urging the public to dispose of their waste properly.

"We would ask those folks to pick up their items," Spallow said. "I guarantee you there's probably a trash can within 20 to 30 feet of where they're sitting on the bank."

She said some of the trash is typical, including escaping pieces of paper, while others are leaving things behind. In either scenarios, she said the parks are only effective if people want to go to them.

"They don't feel safe and they're not clean and the bathrooms aren't clean," Spallow said. "People are not coming out to our parks. So that's one of our big goals every day."

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She also said people deliberately leaving trash has become a problem.

"We deal with a tremendous amount of dumping throughout our 22,000 acres of land that we manage on a daily basis," said Spallow.

Nelson encourages others to take the extra step to cleanup after themselves.

"It's the little kids stepping over the sock in the hallway instead of putting it in the laundry," Nelson said.

He is now channeling his frustration into action and is forming a volunteer cleanup organization.

"We are the Jackson County Water Warriors," Nelson said.

You can find his group collaborating on Facebook.

Spallow said the need for help extends well beyond the lakes.

"Just remember that it's, it's not just here at the lakes, it's around all of our 22,000 acres," she said. "We always have people dumping trash and we need assistance and the public bringing that to our attention," Spallow said.

Volunteer groups are already offered through Jackson County Parks and Recreation. If you want to get involved and help clean up the parks, you can volunteer here.

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