The Gloucester River Cleanup, part of the regional Clean the Bay Day, will be held from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday.

Scott Rae, Gloucester’s environmental programs administrator, said this year volunteers are being recruited to clean portions of three waterways in the county: Sarah’s Creek, Severn River, and Perrin River. Last year, about 80 volunteers picked up 2½ tons of trash during the cleanup, which has been held for about 20 years.

Rae said that as of Tuesday morning about three dozen persons had volunteered for Saturday’s cleanup with more needed. "We hope more people will sign up," Rae said, adding that often a lot of volunteers wait until the last minute before showing up to register the day of the cleanup.

Besides manpower, Rae needs people to volunteer their boats, canoes and kayaks that morning to transport the volunteers out into the water to collect trash. Rae said that a handful of boats, which can trail canoes, are being sought for each waterway.

In addition to the regular signup for the Gloucester/Chesapeake Bay Foundation cleanup, Rae said a regular group of homeowners along Sarah’s Creek and some from the other two waterways take part in cleaning up the rivers.

Staging areas will be York River Yacht Haven (Sarah’s Creek), Severn River Marina (Severn River) and Crowne Point Marina (Perrin River). Waste Management will supply a roll-off container at each of the staging areas, and then will stop by after the cleanup to dispose of the debris.

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