Spring Cleanup

4,200 Volunteers, 94 Locations, 1 Day

EVENT DETAILS:

Milwaukee Riverkeeper provides the gloves, trash bags, and amazing FREE T-SHIRTS. YOU provide the people power to pick up the trash that finds its way into our beautiful river system. Together, we can help restore our waterways.

When

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Where

More than 90 locations across the Milwaukee River Basin!

SAFETY

We’re doing our best to make our rivers healthy, so it’s important for us to also care for the health of our communities at the same time. Be sure to wear gloves and sunscreen! Wash your hands and don’t forget to bring a reusable water bottle, cleaning up is hard work!

Share Your Photos & WIN!

Headout to your preferred cleanup site on the day of the event.
Take a picture of your group, adorable kids/pets/friends, or anything you find unique, unusual, or inspirational during the event.
Post your photos and tag @mkeriverkeeper and #MRKCleanup29 to enter.
You could win a prize filled with outdoor equipment and apparel to enhance your time outside ($300 value). Includes: MRK branded Cotopaxi Fleece, Patagonia Fish Cap, Patagonia Black Hole Duffel, MRK Branded Hydroflask Water Bottle, Browning Headlamp, REI Field Notebook
One photo = one entry. Post as many as you’d like!
Win! We’ll pick our favorite photo and contact you to arrange for pick up

THANK YOU SPONSORS

There is no mission without money. We are incredibly grateful to our generous supporters for believing in a swimmable, drinkable, fishable future for our shared waters.

Registration FAQs

Can I register a group?

Group registration is not offered at this time. As our registration form contains a waiver, each individual must sign themselves up, or be registered by a parent or guardian.

The easiest way to get a larger group registered will be to send the link to your specific site to your group members and remind them that our registration deadline is April 18th. Families will need to register each member individually that will be attending.

Do I need to register my children?

Yes, all individuals should register.

Is there an age limit?

All ages are welcome to join us at most sites. Sites that are not family-friendly are listed as “Adult Only.”

When should I register?

We recommend registering before April 1st. This gives you the best chance to receive a t-shirt in your preferred size on the day of the cleanup. It also helps us to have a more accurate estimate of the number of supplies to have at each site.

When does registration close?

Registration will be closing at midnight on April 18th.

Why is there a capacity limit at the site I want to join?

Excitingly, we are seeing lower trash levels at several of our sites. Because of this, a few of our Site Captains have requested capacity limits at their sites. This ensures that everyone is making a big impact on cleanup day, and that we can collectively meet site needs. If your party is split up due to a capacity limit, we encourage you to either register for a site that is nearby and meet up, or register for a new site altogether.

Why did you not collect my t-shirt size in registration?

We remove t-shirt size from registration once our supplies are distributed to our site captains. After this point, we can no longer guarantee that your t-shirt size will be available at your site, so removing the t-shirt size from our form reduces this confusion. If you do not get a t-shirt at the cleanup, you can reach out to us at rivercleanup@milwaukeeriverkeeper.org to schedule a time to pick one up from our office.

Cleanup FAQs

What do I need to bring?

We recommend bringing a reusable water bottle and sunscreen, and wearing clothes that you can get dirty. Volunteers should also wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. We provide the cleanup materials you will need – gloves and trash bags, which should be returned to your site captain after the cleanup.

Do you recycle trash from the cleanup?

No. Oftentimes, trash picked up at our cleanups is covered in river sediment, making it unrecyclable. While it is a service we would love to offer, it is not something we can currently responsibly manage on a large scale. If you would like to recycle items found at your cleanup, you are welcome to take those items home and recycle them on your own. If you do recycle, please make sure to follow current recycling guidelines for your municipality to avoid contaminating the recycling waste stream.

What should I do if I don’t get a t-shirt at the cleanup?

While we try our best to make sure that all volunteers receive a t-shirt, it is impossible to accurately estimate the exact amount of each size for all of our sites. If you don’t get a t-shirt, you can reach out to rivercleanup@milwaukeeriverkeeper.org after the cleanup to arrange a time to pick one up from our offices by appointment.

What do you do with the cleanup data, and how can I contribute to more detailed data collection?

Cleanup data, specifically the number of volunteers that attend and trash weight, are important values we collect annually to show the impact of our event on a grander scale. This information is shared with groups like the Great Lakes Cleanup, The Stewardship Network, and the International Coastal Cleanup to contribute to data collection worldwide, in order to understand our problem with trash.

Detailed data, numbers of specific types of trash, are also important, as it reveals the types of trash present in our river basin. This data is submitted to the same overarching groups, but we also use it locally to help solve our trash problem. For example, if we notice a spot has a high amount of cigarette butts, we can recommend that property owners install ashtrays. If you would like to contribute to detailed collection of data, you download and report through the Clean Swell app on your mobile device, or reach out to allie@milwaukeeriverkeeper.org to obtain a printable data card to bring along with you and share after the cleanup.