Litter is more than just an eyesore, it is pollution which contaminates drinking water, disrupts recreation, ruins habitat, and threatens the lives of all people, wildlife, and communities who depend on clean water.

How does litter impact our environment?

Litter is an important issue for our communities, rivers, and oceans. Litter causes real damange, it can hurt people who get entagled, trip or cut on it. These dangers hurt wildlife as well, but they also will eat bits of trash which fills up their stomachs tricking them into thinking they are full, causing them to stop eating and end up accidentally starving themselves. When it decays in water it decreases critical oxygen levels and can kill aquatic life.

What is the most common kind of litter?

The top five littered items typically found in rivers are cigarette butts, plastic bottles and caps, food packaging, plastic bags, and aluminum cans. The hard to see but increasingly-present microplastics which come from larger plastic items when they break down are also prevelant. If you’re a fish in the Chicago River, there’s a nine in 10 chance you’ve got plastic in your system.

How bad is the litter problem in the Chicago River System?

The Chicago River is cleaner than it has been in generations. Despite that fact, there is still an inordinate amount of garbage in the river. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and City of Chicago have skimmer boats to remove litter from portions of the river. MWRD removed 3,095 cubic yards of debris  in 2018, but it's not enough. Every Chicago River Day since 1992 we have worked to remove litter from the Chicago River system. Check out how much trash we picked up on Chicago River Day 2019. In 2020, we adapted to the restrictions of the pandemic by encouraging individuals to pick up litter on their own, anywhere in the watershed as litter in our neighborhoods can be one rainstorm away from being litter in the river. 

Creating a Litter Free Chicago River system will take us all working together to stop littering, cleanup our communities, and change our habits. We greatly apprecite the support from Mars Wrigley Foundation who is a key partner in these efforts and the partnerships with REI, Shedd Aquarium, Waste Management, and Loyola University’s Dr. Tim Hoellein, who are all coordinating efforts to find a way toward a Litter Free Chicago River system.

It’s ambitious, yes, but we need to get it done.

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Volunteer to help us #LosetheLitter:

• Check out the events page for the next  land cleanup.

• Canoes and Cleans are held May - October throughout the watershed to clean the river by boat.

• Utilize the Litter Free Chicago River Toolkit to organize a cleanup events in your community.

• Document the good work you're doing with #LoseTheLitter and #LitterFreeChicagoRiver, on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

You can also download separate sections from the Toolkit:

• A social media sign to post at your clean-up.

• Sample liability waiver. 

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Please consider joining the number of individuals, businesses, and community groups throughout the watersed who are engaged in river stewardship. Download our River Action Day flyer to find more information on how to set up a corporate volunteer day to help the river #LosetheLitter. 

This successful project brings together an ever-growing group of communities along the river for education and volunteering. Here are a few of the nearly 35 groups we've worked with so far. We look forward to growing our partnerships.

Canal Shores Golf Course - A 100 year public golf course is leading the way in thoughtful habitat restoration. Check out their new Master Plan and join in their monthly volunteer days.

Evanston Habitat and the City of Evanston - The City of Evanston is working to restore, care and improve the natural habitat along the North Shore Channel and to enhance the channel's value as a green corridor.

Northside College Prep - Coinciding with Friends' CRSN kickoff meeting with teachers, Friends' lead a litter pickup and brush cutting work morning. Northside continues to support a Litter Free Chicago River by hosting a site during Chicago River Day. 

We are so inspired by the many groups and individuals who are joining the effort to tackle litter. Check out the #LosetheLitter and #LitterFreeChicagoRiver hashtags on social media to see Friends and partners in action, working to make the river and its river-edge communities litter free.

Do you have a group interested in doing a clean up? Contact Annette Anderson at (312) 939-0490, ext. 14.

Friends, with the generous support of the Mars Wrigley Foundation, is tackling litter one stretch of river at a time. Starting with a pilot campaign on the North Shore Channel, it has expanded throughout the watershed. The project expansion resulted in a name change to Litter Free Chicago River. Check out the press release.