SPOKANE, Wash. — Despite gloomy morning weather, hundreds of volunteers spent their day cleaning up the banks of the Spokane River as part of the Riverkeeper’s annual Earth Day cleanup.
More than 600 people signed up for the event at High Bridge Park and People’s Park. By 10:30 a.m., over 300 participants were already hard at work removing trash and debris.
“This is our most impactful cleanup of the year,” said Liv Kindl, River Cleanup and Outreach Lead for the Spokane Riverkeeper. “Every cleanup makes an impact and less trash in our river. It’s less things that can break it down and pollute, less things the animals mistake for food and eat.”
The annual Earth Day event has proven effective in previous years. Last year’s cleanup effort resulted in the removal of approximately 9,000 pounds of trash from the river area.
Kindl emphasized that trash can break down into the river. The toxins produced from this can even end up in drinking water.
“We do not want that to happen. We want to protect that resource,” Kindl said. “We want to remove that trash, that breakdown from happening in the first place. And we retain it is a great way to get involved. It’s a great way where everyone can do a little bit to help.”
For more information on the Spokane Riverkeeper and events it puts on, click here.
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