For 28 years, we’ve been inspired by our volunteers’ unwavering commitment to water stewardship during Clean Your Streams. We are excited to share their achievements, along with a comprehensive analysis of this year’s citizen science data.
We can’t always neatly categorize every single piece of marine debris that volunteers remove, but this shows some of the most common finds in our Miscellaneous category!
Clean Your Streams is a watershed cleanup initiative where volunteers collect trash and document their findings. It stands as Ohio’s largest cleanup event, contributing valuable marine debris data to the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) database. Volunteers make a significant impact across various watersheds in our region, including the Ottawa River, Swan Creek, Maumee River, and the tributaries of Maumee Bay. Over the course of 28 years, more than 16,880 volunteers have helped remove around 407,775 pounds of marine debris.
This year, as in previous years, the most commonly collected items from Northwest Ohio’s waterways were #1 plastic bottles, #2 food wrappers, and #3 cigarette butts. Among the more unusual finds were a message in a vintage 7 Up bottle from over 50 years ago, a 30-pound tangle of fishing line and lures, and more than 600 golf balls from the former golf course in Bowling Green.
Total Impact of Remote and In-Person Kickoffs
- Volunteers: 649
- Sites cleaned: 49
- Pounds of marine debris removed: 10,175
- River miles: 21
Be sure to check out our complete CYS 28 Fact Sheet and infographic for additional photos and insights!