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ILLINOIS RIVER
CLEAN-UP
The OSRC holds 3 Illinois River Cleanups each summer, scheduled for
the Friday following each of the major holidays - Memorial Day, July 4th,
and Labor Day. To participate in a cleanup, volunteers should contact
the OSRC by the Wednesday prior to the cleanup, at (918) 456-3251,
or at osrc2@fullnet.net.
The OSRC and canoe livery operators along
the River, with help from Save the Illinois River (STIR) and other local
agencies, have sponsored canoe-based trash cleanups two or three times a
year, on Fridays following major holidays (Memorial, Independence and
Labor Days). Free canoes and trash bags are provided to participants
willing to collect trash along an approximately 6-mile stretch of the
River. Participants who bring in trash can also register for a drawing for
a new canoe, which will be given away during the post-Labor Day cleanup
(Sept. 8 this year).
The
activity has two main objectives: 1) to raise consciousness about the huge
trash problem on the River; 2) to remove tons of trash that are left
during the busy holiday weekends by river users. Most of these volunteer
cleanups result in as much as one or two dump truck loads of trash (2-4
tons) being removed from riverbanks. This is of great practical assistance
to the OSRC. They are given the responsibility of maintaining the
cleanliness of recreational areas of the River, and they have cleanup
crews out almost daily during the floating season, but they have limited
resources to do this job, and the amount of trash left during the holidays
can be overwhelming.
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