Balancing a big tractor tire on a canoe and then paddling that canoe downstream without capsizing requires some skill.

Fortunately, some of the volunteers who recently took part in a Des Moines River cleanup effort called Pickin’ Up While Paddlin’ Down had the necessary skills to do just that. It is unfortunate, however, that the volunteers’ strength and canoeing skill had to be applied to such a task. A tractor tire should never be in a river.

On Aug. 5, about 30 volunteers using 13 canoes and two kayaks took part in the cleanup organized by Webster County Conservation. The volunteers were employees of Koch Fertilizer and Project AWARE (A Watershed Awareness River Expedition).

They did a lot of picking up while paddling down a section of the river. They picked up four tons of material, including 72 tires, two TVs and three microwaves.

That is a disgrace. We should all be angry that our river has become a kind of liquid dump site.

We should also be motivated to do better. Everyone knows how stupid littering is. There is no excuse for doing it. Get the recycling materials in the proper bins and get the garbage into the right cans. Learn the proper ways to dispose of tires and appliances, then do it.

Volunteers like those who were in the canoes and kayaks should not have to clean up after the rest of us. We are grateful that they spent some of their precious time doing so. We offer our thanks to the volunteers, Koch Fertilizer and Project AWARE.

We hope that someday soon a version of Pickin’ Up While Paddlin’ Down will consist of all paddling and no picking up because there won’t be any junk in the river.