Thumbs up to a pair of river cleanups in Warren County while shaking our heads at the things people think are OK to discard in our watershed.

Volunteers spent a day hauling items out of Conewango Creek. The group focused on the water and banks of the creek from the island upstream from Hatch Run to the Front Street boat launch across from Warren State Hospital. Piles of plastic, garbage, four tires and 270 pounds of metal were removed from the river with more to be collected in the future.

Then, from Thursday through Saturday, a cleanup of the Allegheny River drew 45 volunteers who began paddling their way from Buckaloons downstream, picking up garbage along the way. On just the first day of the Allegheny River cleanup, paddlers removed an old corrugated metal pipe, a television, a Keurig coffee maker and other items from the river.

We should all be thankful for the volunteers who are taking their time to clear these items out of our rivers and creeks. Allowing these items to remain in the water is a hazard for those who use the river and damages the waters ecologically. Clearing garbage and debris from our rivers and creeks is hard work that township, borough and city workers never have time to get to, so the volunteers are providing a truly valuable service.

At the same time, what are some people thinking? We live in an area with amazing natural beauty. It’s galling to think people would think these beautiful creeks, rivers and wetlands are an appropriate place to discard of household items. Volunteers cleaning up these sites is admirable work, but we need to do a better job of preventing this sort of trash dumping from happening in the first place — and that includes more focus on catching and penalizing those responsible.