In 2016 we celebrated the 25th anniversary of National River Cleanup®. Over the course of the year, more than 53,000 volunteers removed more than 3.4 million pounds of trash from nearly 2,000 cleanup sites. To finish the 25th anniversary celebrations off with a bang and to show appreciation for all the groups that make National River Cleanup possible, we’d like to give formal recognition to our cleanup organizers and volunteers.

Winners of each category were based on data result submissions by cleanup organizers following their cleanups. Because cleanups come in all shapes and sizes, we have two tiers of recognition – events with ten or more cleanup sites and events with fewer than ten sites.

Help us in congratulating these organizations and individuals who helped make National River Cleanup’s big year a huge success!

Most River Miles Cleaned

Large cleanup: Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area’s Arkansas River Cleanup/Greenup — 100 miles

Mid-sized cleanup: Northern Illinois Anglers Association’s Kankakee Iroquois River Cleanup — 110 miles

Most Pounds of Trash Collected

Large cleanup: ORSANCO’s Ohio River Sweep — 1 million pounds

Mid-sized cleanup: LoCo ‘Yaks’ 4th Annual Black River Clean-up — 36,756 pounds

Most Volunteers Mobilized

Large cleanup: Charles River Watershed Association’s 17th Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup — 3,000 volunteers

Mid-sized cleanup: The City of Wichita’s 15th Annual Arkansas River Trash Roundup — 1,310 volunteers

Tiniest but Mightiest 

Keith Cox, along with a small group of no more than 7 volunteers, hauled 875 pounds of trash out of tributaries to the Hudson River in 2016.

The Missisquoi River Basin Association gathered a group of 9 volunteers to haul 1,400 pounds of trash from the Missisquoi River during one cleanup event.