In a massive, one-day effort stretching from New York Harbor to the Adirondacks, some 2,000 volunteers will help clean-up the shorelines at more than 100 locations along the Hudson River and its tributaries during the 7th Annual Riverkeeper Sweep on Saturday, May 5.

With 112 projects scheduled, this effort is the largest in the event’s history. Teams of volunteers, organized by local schools, businesses, scout troops, paddling groups, park staff and others, will remove trash and plant trees and native grasses.

To join in, members of the public can search locations and register here.

Since the inception of Riverkeeper Sweep in 2012, 10,000 volunteers have carried out a total of 495 service projects, across hundreds of miles of shoreline. They have removed an estimated 191 tons of debris, planted 2,228 trees and shrubs, and removed tons of invasive plants.

Riverkeeper Sweep is hoped to inspire year-round efforts to address sources of pollution and reduce consumption of single-use products like straws, bottles and bottle caps, foam containers and plastic bags. This year, Riverkeeper and their partners are collecting signatures to support a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags in New York (Senate Bill S7760 / Assembly bill A9953).

Plastic bottles, plastic bags and Styrofoam are among the most pervasive items polluting shorelines. Tires and metal debris are also widespread. Detailed data on the contents of shoreline trash will be collected in 12 locations, including Bushwick Inlet Park in NYC, Croton Point and Hastings in Westchester, and Beacon, Poughkeepsie and Kingston Point further north.

In North Creek, Sweep leader Peter Horvath will lead a cleanup starting at Riverfront Park, across the river from where last year’s cleanup took place. Like last year, the Sweep coincides with the Hudson River Whitewater Derby, a canoe race that dates back to 1958.

Breweries have announced their support for the Sweep by inviting all registered volunteers to meet at any of 27 Hudson Valley and New York City breweries for a beverage on the house: Albany Pump Station (CH Evans Brewing Co.), Albany; Angry Orchard, Walden; Arrowood Farms, Accord; Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, Elmsford; Coogan’s Restaurant, Washington Heights; Crossroads Brewing Company, Athens; Crossroads Brewing Company, Catskill: Defiant Brewing Co., Pearl River; Greenpoint Beer and Ale, Brooklyn; Gun Hill Brewing Company, Bronx; Industrial Arts Brewing Co., Garnerville; Keegan Ales, Kingston; Kings County Brewers Collective Brooklyn; Mill House Brewing Company Poughkeepsie; Newburgh Brewing Company, Newburgh; North River Hops & Brewing, Wappingers Falls; Peekskill Brewery, Peekskill; P&G Restaurant, New Paltz; SingleCut Beersmiths, Astoria; Sloop Brewing Co., Elizaville; Suarez Family Brewery, Hudson; Tapped, Middletown; Transmitter Brewing, Long Island City; Yard Owl Craft Brewery, New Paltz; Yonkers Brewing Company, Yonkers; 2 Way Brewing, Beacon; 6 Degrees of Separation, Ossining.

For more information contact Leah Rae, Riverkeeper Media Specialist, at lrae@riverkeeper.org or (914) 478-4501 ext. 238.