Wings2Water awarded a $5,000 grant to Iowa Rivers Revivals (IRR) to help plan, support, coordinate, and execute a series of river cleanup events across Iowa.
One of the river cleanup events took place on August 14, 2024. Volunteers walked over two miles of Indian Creek, filling a canoe with tires, bikes, plastic, and other trash. In 2023, IRR removed nearly 62,000 pounds of trash from Iowa rivers and waterways.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refers to garbage in U.S. streams, rivers, creeks, etc. as “aquatic trash.” Littering isn’t the only contributing factor. Illegal dumping and garbage that isn’t properly contained or disposed of easily become aquatic trash when carried by wind or rain into our waterways. All of the trash in our waterways affects water quality, marine animals and plants, and contributes to the pollution in areas used for tourism and recreation. The EPA provides detailed information on environmental, social, and economic impacts here.
Connect with Iowa Rivers Revival on Facebook here.