Kudos to Spokane River Cleanup - they gobble up 27,535 lbs of trash and litter in 2022

The Spokane River Forum and Spokane Riverkeeper are proud to announce volunteers gobbled up 27,535 lbs. of trash and litter from the Spokane River in 2022. Click here for photo gallery.

“It’s the third year of this joint initiative,” said Forum Executive Director Andy Dunau. “As it continues to grow and expand, we’re showcasing the power of individual stewardship and community pride.”

Said Jerry White, Executive Director of Spokane Riverkeeper, “It’s clear people love their river. One thing we’re particularly pleased with is that our efforts were powered by 2,200 volunteers, which is twice as many as we had in 2021.”

Expansion was largely made possible by hiring an AmeriCorps intern who was able to promote and expand the number of civic, business, church and other groups doing site specific cleanups. A big thanks to the City of Spokane for providing the Forum funding to make that possible. Click here for the names of organizations that came out for river cleanup.

“Another thing we piloted this year,” said Dunau, “was on-river cleanup floats.” This helps us get at hard-to-reach places and gives volunteers a fun/safe water experience. A big thank you to Idaho Central Credit Union and Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club for helping us take the plunge into that new endeavor. We’re also pleased to announce TC Energy is providing grant funds to help build that program out in 2023.

And a shout-out to Spokane County. “Success meant we were running short on bags sooner than we expected,” said Riverkeeper Jule Schultz, “So the county stepped up with litter funds to help us place a big order. Thank you as well to Northwest Renewables, our primary sponsor of this program.”

And, as always, a thank you to the Lands Council for taking the lead in organizing the community September cleanup within the City of Spokane. Combined with Northwest Whitewater Association helping organize the Spokane Valley cleanup, fall cleanup is well anchored.

Want to join the volunteer fun? Let us know you’re interested at spokanerivercleanup.org.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!