New Haven — Missouri River Relief (MRR) is hosting a large-scale, community and equipment-based trash cleanup on the Missouri River along a 10-mile stretch near New Haven, mobilizing volunteers from around the region. The event will be headquartered at the New Haven River Access located in the Historic Downtown District.

Registration for the cleanup event is full. Due to an increased awareness of single-use plastic waste and the desire for families to recreate outdoors, we will have nearly 150 volunteers joining in on the effort. Volunteers are comprised of families, individuals, students, civic and corporate teams taking part in this river cleanup.

On Saturday, Oct. 19, pre-registered volunteers will begin sign-in starting at 8:45 a.m. and then board boats at the New Haven River Access starting at 9 a.m. Volunteers will be ferried to pre-scouted locations along the riverbanks to pick up flood debris and improperly disposed of trash that has made its way downstream. In just a few hours, volunteers will have made a direct positive impact on their environment having collected literally tons of trash for proper disposal back on shore.

The cleanup runs from 9 a.m. to noon. Motorboats will be operated by Missouri River Relief’s experienced boat captains and operators from the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Media is encouraged and welcome to board our boats to capture footage of the Missouri River and the day’s events.

Between 11 a.m. and noon, volunteers will be returned by boat where they’ll be served a free volunteer appreciation lunch and will have the opportunity to learn more about great alternatives to single use plastics through our “Clean Rivers Start at Home” program and obtain a badge through MRR’s “Missouri River Explorer Badge Program.”

At about 1:30 p.m., partners from Missouri River Bird Observatory will be conducting a brand audit on the trash removed from the river. The data gathered from this effort goes into a larger report by Break Free from Plastic to identify the world’s top polluting corporations.

The cleanup is sponsored by the Robert J. Trulaske, Jr., Family Foundation, Veterans United Foundation, Missouri Department of Conservation, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, Walmart, Paddle Stop Brewery, Republic Services, Astral Glass Studio and Gallery, Missouri Stream Team, and the Missouri River Bird Observatory.