Randall’s Island shoreline cleanup caps ‘Riverkeeper Sweep 2017’

Photo: Beth Allee / Riverkeeper
View more images on our Flickr site

Photo: Beth Allee / Riverkeeper

A group of dedicated – seriously dedicated – volunteers helped complete Riverkeeper’s annual effort to clear trash from the shorelines, the project known as Riverkeeper Sweep.

Take a moment to check out the scene, above.

Despite non-stop, pouring rain, nearly 20 volunteers worked to clean up the Bronx Kill at low tide on Friday, July 14. Riverkeeper and Randall’s Island Park Alliance coordinated the effort, carried out by volunteers from MEC, Ironshore and the New York Power Authority.

The cleanup had been scheduled for Friday, May 5, 2017, as a kickoff to the 6th Annual Riverkeeper Sweep on May 6, but was postponed due to rain. The rain date, July 14, was no better – “We went from a rain date to a typhoon date,” Education & Outreach Coordinator Jen Benson said. But the cleanup went forward.

Here was the result.

On May 6, 2017, encompassing more than 100 projects happening the same day from New York City to the Adirondacks. About 1,765 volunteers hauled 26 tons of trash, tires, assorted junk and recyclable plastic away from 102 locations along Hudson Valley and New York City shorelines. Read more here.

The effort had a research component for the second year in a row. At select sites, volunteers documented the exact types and amounts of trash. Click below to see how foam and plastic bottles dominated the collection in 2017:

What we found at the shoreline – Hudson River trash data 2017

For comparison, see the data from 2016:

What we find at the shoreline – See data on Hudson River trash 2016

Let’s keep the momentum going! Learn more about our work on marine debris and how you can help keep trash out of the Hudson River.

Watch our events page for occasional cleanups throughout the year.

And save the date: The 7th Annual Riverkeeper Sweep is May 5, 2018.