Although the effort is decades old, beginning in 2004, groups like the Miami Soil and Water Conservation District and the Miami Conservancy District came together to organize sponsors and hundreds of volunteers from across the Miami Valley to make the event what it is today.
Provided by the Miami Soil and Water Conservation District, here are the number of volunteers, tires — yes, tires — and tons of trash collected each year from 2004 to 2017.
Credit: Amelia Robinson
Credit: Amelia Robinson
Note that these numbers do not accurately reflect how many tires, tons of trash and other debris that were actually in the rivers each year. Factors like the depth of the river and weather influence what’s able to be recovered during each Clean Sweep. In other words, much more trash remains in our rivers despite the county-wide efforts — think hard before you litter!
2004
Volunteers — N/A
Tires — 200
Tons of trash — 12
2005
Volunteers — N/A
Tires — 1,031
Tons of trash — 163.4
2006
Volunteers — 823
Tires — 638
Tons of trash — 27.34
2007
Volunteers — 884
Tires — 1,419
Tons of trash — 26.74
Credit: Amelia Robinson
Credit: Amelia Robinson
2008
Volunteers — 519
Tires — 389
Tons of trash — 32
2009
Volunteers — 871
Tires — 630
Tons of trash — 35.2
2010
Volunteers — 1,385
Tires — 221
Tons of trash — 31.7
2011
Volunteers — 1,032
Tires — 277
Tons of trash — 22.26
2012
Volunteers — 1,246
Tires — 401
Tons of trash — 30.6
2013
Volunteers — 811
Tires — 400
Tons of trash — 18.75
2014
Volunteers — 952
Tires — 1,268
Tons of trash — 22.39
2015
Volunteers — 396
Tires — 67
Tons of trash — 3.57
2016
Volunteers — 1,362
Tires — 275
Tons of trash — 20.3
2017
Volunteers — 691
Tires — 92
Tons of trash —14.41
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