Over 300 Volunteers are Expected to Help Clean-up the nation’s two longest rivers – the Missouri and Mississippi.”
Missouri River Relief (MRR) is hosting a large-scale, community-wide, equipment-based trash clean-up of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on Saturday, September 15th, 2018, mobilizing hundreds of volunteers from around the region. The event will be headquartered at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area Boat Ramp (CBCA).
This is Missouri River Relief’s annual river clean-up in the eastern reach of the state. Each year, different stretches of the Missouri River are targeted for trash clean-up, the western, central and eastern. The last river clean-up in St. Charles was conducted in 2017 and drew 309 volunteers who removed 4.85 tons of trash and 107 tires.
Due to this year’s pre-registration numbers and increased awareness of plastic straw and bag waste, the 2018 St. Louis clean-up is expected to draw around 300 volunteers to join in the effort. Registration for the event is now closed, due to the high volume of expected attendees. MRR anticipates many families, individuals, civic and church groups, school clubs, students, and corporate teams to take part in the river clean-up.
Pre-registered volunteers will begin signing in starting at 8:30 a.m. and will begin to board the boats at CBCA starting at 9:00 a.m. Volunteers will be shuttled to pre-scouted locations along the river banks to pick up tons of trash.
The clean-up runs from 9 a.m. to noon, rain or shine. Motor boats will be operated by Missouri River Relief, as well as partners from the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Between 11 a.m. and noon, volunteers will be returned by boat where they’ll be served a free appreciation lunch and will have the opportunity to enter an official “Missouri River Relief Trash Contest“. Volunteers will enjoy a fun and festive atmosphere with fellow community members, as they celebrate the morning’s achievements at Columbia Bottom during lunch.