WOODFIN - After Tropical Storm Helene swept "hundreds of thousands" of IPEX's unsecured PVC pipes into the river, a local environmental group said they simply wanted to receive contact from the company to avoid another future disaster.
On Sept. 16, the company pledged $500,000 to MountainTrue for the Asheville-based environmental nonprofit's regional cleanup efforts.
Silver-Line Plastics operates as part of IPEX, is one of the world’s largest suppliers of thermoplastics materials, products and accessories. IPEX's Silver-Line Plastics facility in Woodfin, one of the town's largest employers, is a pipe manufacturing company along Riverside Drive on the French Broad River. During Helene in late September 2024, "hundreds of thousands," of PVC pipes
were swept from the IPEX property into the river, MountainTrue said.
In May, MountainTrue hosted community meetings in Woodfin, Marshall and Hot Springs urging residents to tell IPEX to clean up the many tons of heavy plastic that washed into local waterways, and to secure the products so they don't wash downriver again.
At the time, MountainTrue and French Riverkeeper Anna Alsobrook said they had not received any response from IPEX for roughly 20 months after the storm.
Then, in a June 16 email to The Citizen Times, IPEX said it was "dedicated to being part of the solution," in the debris cleanup, and spokesperson Anastasia Georgakakos for IPEX's corporate headquarters in Canada said the company "remains focused on supporting recovery efforts and addressing ongoing challenges across the region."
"As a company that has been part of Asheville since 1962, we care deeply about the well-being of the people and the environment we all share. We are actively assessing the situation and remain committed to working with members of the community and sharing what we learn to help inform our next steps," Georgakakos said in the email.
IPEX’s $500,000 commitment will support MountainTrue’s continued cleanup, helping sustain the work into 2027 and maintain focus on remaining priority areas, the company said in the Sept. 16 release.
“IPEX’s Silver-Line facility has been part of this community for decades, and we intend to be here for decades to come,” said Colleen Pritchett, CEO of IPEX.
“Helene brought historic flooding to our facility and surrounding communities, but it also showcased the resilience and perseverance that have long defined Western North Carolina. That same spirit continues to inspire our commitment to the region’s recovery. MountainTrue brings deep expertise in river cleanup and restoration, and we’re proud to support their work and help advance the next phase of recovery.”
In a Sept. 16 email to The Citizen Times, IPEX spokesperson Mary Wesley Craft said the commitment will support both MountainTrue’s work to date and its continued cleanup. The cleanup investment and preparedness efforts will move forward in the coming months as IPEX continues working with MountainTrue, the Town of Woodfin, and other local partners on Hurricane Helene recovery, IPEX said in a Sept. 16 release to The Citizen Times.
6 million pounds of debris removed from river
In a June community meeting, Jon Stamper, MountainTrue's river cleanup operations director, said the group signed a $10 million contract in July 2025 with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to operate the river cleanup program through December 2026.
The river cleanup team is working to remove debris from waterways throughout 20 counties. To date, MountainTrue has picked up nearly 6 million pounds of debris from local waterways, including 2 million pounds cleared by the DEQ-funded river cleanup team since July 2025, with the largest removal program taking place in Madison County between Redmon Dam and Stackhouse, according to Stamper.
Close to 40% of the debris removed from Woodfin to Douglas Lake has been IPEX products, Stamper said, accounting for almost 80% of debris along stretches of the river.
According to the release, IPEX commissioned a comprehensive survey of the French Broad River from its Woodfin facility to the Tennessee border to better understand what pipe remains. MountainTrue will use this new funding to target remaining storm debris along the river system in Buncombe and Madison Counties in North Carolina and Cocke County, Tenn.
“The French Broad is the lifeblood of Western North Carolina. It’s a place where we paddle, fish, explore, and connect with nature, and a vital natural and economic resource for communities throughout the region. That’s why its recovery is worth investing in,” said Anna Alsobrook, MountainTrue’s French Broad Riverkeeper. “We greatly appreciate IPEX stepping up to help us continue that work. These funds will help us keep experienced crews on the river, tackle some of the hardest-to-reach areas, and remove more debris from the French Broad.”
IPEX is also working with the town of Woodfin and MountainTrue to help commission an engineering study to evaluate potential storage improvements and other measures to reduce the risk of future inventory loss, it said in the release.
“Helene changed the way we think about resilience in Woodfin,” said Woodfin Mayor Jim McAllister “Recovery means addressing the damage left behind, but it also means learning from what happened and making decisions today that leave us better prepared for the future. I’m encouraged to see IPEX and MountainTrue working together to clean up the river, and IPEX continuing to work with the town around emergency preparedness.”
Gray Jernigan, MountainTrue's deputy director and general counsel, said the organization is "thrilled" that IPEX has stepped up to help remove remaining PVC from the French Broad River after nearly two years of cleanup.
"Their significant contribution will help MountainTrue keep skilled cleanup teams working between Woodfin and Lake Douglas well into 2027. We are hopeful that this new relationship will be a long one committed to protecting the river and its floodplain, and look forward to seeing the results of IPEX’s engineering study for how they will better secure their inventory before the next flood arrives," Jernigan said, calling the commitment a win not only for MountainTrue, but the whole French Broad River community.
"Our supporters stepped up to speak on behalf of the river, and it led to real, tangible results. Sometimes, we have to speak loudly for the rivers, forests and communities we share, and this victory shows the importance of that work. The work doesn’t end here, but this is a huge step forward together."
Johnny Casey is the Madison County communities reporter for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: IPEX commits $500K to MountainTrue for continued French Broad cleanup
