National River Cleanup™

Winning Photo from the 2009 National River Cleanup Photo Contest

Keeping rivers and streams clean and trash-free

Millions of tons of trash end up in our nation’s rivers and streams every year. American Rivers is a proud sponsor of National River Cleanup™, the most popular and successful stream cleanup program in the country that taps into the civic pride of tens of thousands of volunteers across the country. National River Cleanup™ is now a year-long event.

Since its launch by America Outdoors in 1991, more than 600,000 volunteers have participated in thousands of cleanups across the country, covering more than 100,000 miles of waterways. These cleanups have removed more than 1,000 tons of litter and debris from America's rivers and streams. National River Cleanup™ 2008 was the most successful year to date, with more organizers and cleanups than ever before.

Learn More About National River Cleanup About National River Cleanup Register a 2010 Cleanup Find a Cleanup Promote a Cleanup Report the Results of Your Cleanup Frequently Asked Questions

AARP Joins American Rivers in Promoting Volunteerism, Cleanups American Rivers is working with AARP to increase volunteerism through our National River Cleanup™ program with a new how-to video and toolkit, How to Organize a River Cleanup. Watch the video below or download the toolkit (PDF).  How To Organize a River Cleanup on Howcast