QUAD-CITIES–The date is set and planning is underway for Xstream Cleanup, the Quad-Cities' annual, volunteer-based cleanup of area waterways.
The cleanup will be held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015. Online registration will open by July 1 at www.xstreamcleanup.org.
Event organizers are looking for new cleanup sites and encourage members of the community to make suggestions. If a site is dirty, litter-ridden or host to illegal dumping, organizers want to hear about it. To make a suggestion, send an e-mail to info@xstreamcleanup.org or call (563) 468-4218.
New this year, Xstream Cleanup volunteers will receive BPA-free water bottles instead of event-themed T-shirts.
"By providing reusable water bottles, we're making a small but deliberate change," says event chair Curtis Lundy. "Our goal is to keep our hard-working volunteers hydrated without using cases of bottled water, which generate unnecessary trash. We also want to provide a meaningful token of gratitude. Ideally, each time our volunteers sip from an Xstream Cleanup water bottle, they will make the connection between the work they do and the quality of the water in our community. That's what this event is all about."
Xstream Cleanup began in 2004 as a small-scale cleanup of Duck Creek. Over the years, the event has removed almost 1 million pounds of trash from area waterways. The event attracts about 1,300 volunteers who clean up over 40 sites around the Quad-Cities each year. Volunteers clean up debris and remove invasive species: plants that spread aggressively, choking out native species that provide food and homes for wildlife. The cleanup is now in its twelfth year.
For more information about Xstream Cleanup, visit www.xstreamcleanup.org. "Like" Xstream Cleanup on Facebook for updates as the event approaches.
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