River Cleanups

RIVER CLEANUPS

Since 1998, Living Lands & Waters has worked on 25 rivers in 21 states and has hosted 1,145 community-based cleanups!

LL&W hosts dozens of community river cleanups each year to help watershed conservation efforts with the assistance of thousands of volunteers of all ages who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get dirty – individuals, schools, community organizations, businesses and more! To find a cleanup near you, continue below.

Or, if you would like to be placed on our "River Cleanup Notification List" please fill out and submit our questionnaire found below. Folks on the notification list will receive an email or phone call from us if we're ever working in their area!

Mississippi River Cleanups

Mississippi River Cleanups

If you'd like to be notified when we head to your neck of the woods in the QC, please fill out our River Cleanup Notification Sign-Up!
Illinois River Cleanups

Illinois River Cleanups

The flood in 2019 was one for the books, placing many river towns along the upper Mississippi & Illinois Rivers above flood stage for more than 100 days. We were able to do a series of post-flood cleanups with our boats and crew last year - and removed an estimated 26,574 pounds of garbage from the Illinois River. But there is still more to cleanup!
Ohio River Cleanups

Ohio River Cleanups

We are looking to hosting River Cleanup events for the 2023 season - please fill out the River Cleanup Notification Sign-Up form so we can let you know when we return to your neck of the woods!
Tennessee River Cleanups

Tennessee River Cleanups

We'll be teaming up with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful in October and November of 2023 for cleanups in a few locations on the Tennessee River!

CLICK HERE to head over to the Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful website to learn more & sign up!
A River Near You

A River Near You

We have brought our river cleanups efforts to 25 rivers in 21 states. Have a trashed shoreline in mind, or a group of people itching to join our mission?

Send us a message!

Or, if you would like to be placed on our "river cleanup notification list" please fill out and submit THIS FORM. Folks on the notification list will receive an email or phone call from us if we're ever working in your area!

River Cleanup Notification Sign-Up
FAQ's

FAQ's

"What happens to all the trash you pick up?"

- Everything that we pick up is counted up for our stats and then unloaded and sorted out on our barges. We have separate barges for plastic & e-waste, tires, and scrap metal! Our scrap metal gets dropped at a scrap yard, our e-waste is properly disposed of, our tires are recycled through Bridgestone's Tires4Ward program, and our plastic is sorted out and recycled at our Recycle Like a Rockstar events!

"I want to join a cleanup, but you're not coming to my area this year! What can I do?"

- Although we'd love to be in hundreds of places at once, we are a small crew and, unfortunately, usually set our goals to a handful of different areas/ rivers each year. If we can't make it to you, we'd love to sponsor your cleanup! For those on the Mississippi River, we have our Great Mississippi River Cleanup program! We'll assist your cleanup by sending you gloves, bags, LL&W swag for your volunteers, and we'll offer you advice, so your event goes off without a hitch. For all other rivers, we have our Adopt-A-River-Mile program! If you claim a stretch of water and pledge to #keepitclean, we'll send you gloves, bags, a metal sign to mark your mile, and give you guidance for your mission. Click the links to learn more and sign-up!