a huge thank you to over 500 volunteers who participated in wmeac's 21st mayors' Grand River cleanup
11,600
lbs of trash removed This year
On September 7, local leaders and hundreds of volunteers joined us to kickoff the 2024 Mayors’ Grand River Cleanup and learn about what’s happening on the Grand River. Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2024 Cleanup, both at the kickoff and at various adopted cleanup sites throughout the week!
If you missed it this year, please join us next fall at the 2025 Cleanup! Free supplies, food, and beverages are provided. Learn more about the event in the video below.Â
thank you for 20 years of action!
When?
Saturday, September 9, 2023
8:30am - 2pm
Where?
6th Street Park, Grand Rapids
(647 Monroe Ave NW)
On Saturday, September 9th, 2023, a few hundred stewards collected at Sixth Street Park in Grand Rapids for a misty morning of community action. Our volunteers brought their enthusiasm and camaraderie for cleaning up the banks of the Grand River. The WMEAC team is deeply thankful for those who were able to join us for the Mayors’ Kickoff and to the groups who participated in the week-long Grand River Cleanup Campaign. We are looking forward to seeing you all next year for another celebration of water, life, and the love that connects the two.
1 week
500+ volunteers
6 participating cities
7,200+ lbs of trash removed
35 sites and 12+ miles of river cleaned
... 1 lime scooter
clean up adopted sites
Join us next year to clean a site of your choosing!
Individuals and groups (families, friends, businesses, etc.) adopt sites along the river to clean up together any day during cleanup week.
Check out our map of sites (color coded by age appropriateness).
Your group can clean up an unlisted site, even your own!
Registration will begin in Summer 2025.
Sponsors and vendor sign up
Become a Sponsor
To sponsor the 2025 Cleanup, contact WMEAC Director of Development, Sharlene Kipfer, at skipfer@wmeac.org or (616) 451-3051, extension 124.
Become a vendor
If you’re interested in having an information table at our Kick-Off Event, email mayorscleanup@wmeac.org.
2024 cleanup Sponsors
Books and Mortar
Earthbound Inc.
Fishbeck
Fusion Financial Group
GMB Architecture + Engineering (GMB AE)
Huntree Nursery
Key Green Solutions
Last Mile Cafe
Mark Huizenga Systems Consulting, LLC
Meijer
Midwest Movement Collective
NPF Investment Advisors
Nutcase Vegan
Orion Construction
Schrems West Michigan Trout Unlimited
Steelcase
Twisthink
Vicinity Energy, Kent County Waste-to-Energy Facility
West Michigan Chapter of the Air & Waste Management Association (WM-AWMA)
West Michigan Environmental Action Council​
GRAND RIVER CLEANUP CAMPAIGN
SAT, SEPTEMBER 7TH - SAT, SEPTEMBER 14TH
If you can’t join us on September 7th for our Kickoff, there are still plenty of ways to stay involved with Michigan’s largest river cleanup! You can:
- Adopt one of our Cleanup Sites with a group of 5 of more volunteers.
- Stop by the WMEAC office during our campaign to receive FREE trash bags and gloves to clean up your street, sidewalk, or storm drain at home.
- Attend the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds’ Jamboree and sign up to receive a WMEAC rain barrel for your home.
- Sponsor our Cleanup and receive the many benefits of becoming a WMEAC Business Member.
ADOPT A CLEANUP SITE WITH A GROUP!
Do you have a group of friends, neighbors, or coworkers that you would like to volunteer with? Groups of 5 or more people are able to adopt a Cleanup Site from our curated Cleanup Site Map! These are locations where you can likely spend 1 – 2 hours with 5 – 10 people cleaning up trash. Some Cleanup Sites are along the Grand River itself, many sites are along a stream that connects to the Grand River in a public park or green space. Some sites are not family-friendly (red icons)Â and are located under bridges, train tracks, highway overpasses, or have other hazards such as steep banks or poison ivy present.
Site adoption for the 2025 Grand River Cleanup will open in the summer of 2025. For more information please contact mayorscleanup@wmeac.org.
Stop by the WMEAC office or any other location with the glove icon to pick up FREE trash bags, disposable gloves, and other materials for your clean up.
Red sites are not recommended for children 12 and younger. Boots, pants, and closed-toed shoes are required. Muck boots, hip boots, or waders are recommended. Hazards such as high-speed traffic, steep banks, or poison ivy are likely to be present.
be a trash scout
Do you know a spot in your community that is contaminated with trash? Recruit the help of our WMEAC volunteers and Cleanup Crew!!Â
These locations do not have to be along a river. Many of our streets, sidewalks, and storm drains will bring pollution like trash, microplastics, salt, and oil directly into our rivers. This “first flush” of pollution can happen as quickly as 15 minutes after it begins to rain! Trash often collects near bridges, riverside trails, boat launches, overpasses, rail road crossings, and in industrial areas.
Reach out to mayorscleanup@wmeac.org to have the location highlighted on our Google Story Map. Or you can adopt the site with a group and WMEAC will provide you with free clean up supplies and try to arrange trash removal services with your City’s Department of Public Works.
join THE CLEANUP CHALLENGE!
 Join the WMEAC Cleanup Challenge by asking your workplace, civic group, or friends and family to donate $5, $10, $20, or more per bag of trash your volunteer group picks up.Â
Friends, family, and folks from your workplace can donate at wmeac.org/give and have the option to mention your name when donating. As a 501c3 nonprofit, their donation to WMEAC is tax-deductible and all proceeds go toward supporting WMEAC’s Mayors’ Grand River Cleanup!
WMEAC has partnered with the Ocean Conservancy, whose free Clean Swell app enables you to log and share the number of trash bags your group collects as part of the Mayors’ Grand River Cleanup. By sharing how much your group was able to clean up, you can inspire others and encourage additional support for WMEAC’s clean water work, like the Mayors’ Grand River Cleanup!
Each volunteer group and donor participating in the Cleanup Challenge will also receive a fun WMEAC swag bag.
Check out how to use the free Clean Swell app for the Cleanup Challenge below!
LOWER GRAND RIVER ORGANIZATION OF WATERSHEDS' JAMBOREE & RAIN BARREL WORKSHOP
Stop by Legacy Park on Saturday, September 16th, 2023 for family-friendly activities and live music. The Jamboree is a celebration that highlights water quality improvements and recognizes the watershed groups that are working to improve the Lower Grand River Watershed. For more information about the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds you can visit their site at lgrow.org
WMEAC will be hosting a Rain Barrel Workshop at the Jamboree and spots are limited! If you have ever been interested in saving money on water while preventing flooding on your property- a rain barrel is an easy and efficient solution. WMEAC staff will lead you through how to construct a 55-gallon plastic drum into a container for rainwater that has been collected by your downspout.
Click here for more information about WMEAC’s Rain Barrel Workshop program and other ways to manage stormwater on your property. Workshop registration will open soon!
