Volunteers clean up trash at Falls Lake

ASEZ, a group of mostly student volunteers collected more than 500 bags of trash at Falls Lake Hickory Hill Boat Ramp on Sunday.

"We picked this lake because recently, in the news, they've faced a lot of plastic pollution," said Justin Okafor, a student at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. "If you drive around this area, there's a lot of plastic contaminants."

The students are planning more of these cleanups.

"We work to come together to clean communities and do other active events so that we can clean up and make everyone have a happy and healthy community," said Allison Renteria, .