That’s a lot of trash! Thanks to the 70+ volunteers who joined our Trash Free River Days Cleanup weekend, we were able to remove 1,501 pounds of trash from the shoreline of the St. Lawrence River.
This cleanup takes us to over 3,500 pounds of trash collected so far in 2025!
From small blue styrofoam pieces and plastic bottles to large metal pipes, volunteers retrieved all varieties of trash which would otherwise contribute to rising microplastic levels in the St. Lawrence River. Trash is also sometimes mistaken for food and consumed by fish and birds.
Several organizations helped the effort Saturday morning, including the Cape Vincent Improvement League which led a small group of volunteers through Wilson’s Beach. In South Bay on Wellesley Island, representatives from the 20th Air Support Operations Squadron out of Fort Drum carried almost 1,200 pounds of broken glass and metal pipes off the shoreline. The T. I. Park Foundation brought together residents for pickups near the Cove Swimming Beach and Crystal Bay, and Save The River is grateful to the Otter Creek Inn for allowing volunteers to launch kayaks from their property.
The Trash Free River Days Cleanup wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of the Leonard C & Mildred F. Ferguson Foundation. Save The River would also like to thank all the wonderful families and individual volunteers who came out to ensure the St. Lawrence River remains Trash Free all summer long.
