U of U students tackle Jordan River Trail cleanup

SALT LAKE CITY — The Jordan River Trail was cleaner Monday morning thanks to a group of University of Utah students.

Twenty-five students gathered for the cleanup effort of the Jordan River Trail. The work was part of a final project for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

Soumya Mitra, a graduate research and teaching assistant, had never been to the trail. He didn’t realize how overrun with trash it had become.

“I went for a walk on the trail … it’s heavily polluted along the trail and especially in the river,” Mitra said. “Most of the time [the trash] was a lot of single-use mugs and cups that come with coffee [and] a lot of single-user wrappers and plastic.”

Mitra said the students wanted more to do after they collected over 20 large bags of trash.

“The students talked about [a] leave no trace principle, how to keep the trail clean, and what we can do going forward.”

Mitra said he was happy that the students could provide a service. According to Mitra, the project has inspired students to become more involved with environmental issues in their communities.

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