All over the Quad Cities, volunteers got together for some “xstream” cleaning.
The 12th Annual Xstream Cleanup was held Saturday morning, August 8, 2015. There were 671 volunteers helping out in Illinois and Iowa.
Xstream Cleanup is a cleanup of creeks, drainage ways, and sections of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers over the entire Quad Cities area, according to the event website.
There were 34 places these volunteers worked on, including (Iowa) Bettendorf, Davenport, LeClaire and parts of rural Scott County and (Illinois) Hampton, Milan, Moline, Rock Island, and Silvis.
From the 2015 clean up day, volunteers gathered 705 bags of trash, and removed about 17,880 pounds of debris from waterways and illegal dump sites, according to a spokesperson from the Waste Commission of Scott County.
See a full list of the trash that was found below
The Xstream Cleanup committee was formed in 2003 after a successful cleanup at Duck Creek. Living Lands & Waters founder, Chad Pregracke, moved to expand the cleanup efforts to the entire Quad Cities.
When they held the first Xstream Cleanup in 2004, more than 1,300 people helped clean up 28 sites. According to the website, those volunteers cleared out 40 tons, 80,000 pounds, of trash from area waterways.
For helping out, at the 2015 event, volunteers got BPA-free water bottles, according to their website.
“[By] providing reusable water bottles, we’re making a small but deliberate change. Our goal is to keep our hard-working volunteers hydrated without using cases of bottled water, which generate unnecessary trash,” said event chair Curtis Lundy.
Lundy noted that the water bottles are also “to provide a meaningful token of gratitude.” He said the hope is that when volunteers drink from their 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.”
On Saturday, August 8, 671 Xstream Cleanup volunteers worked a total of 1,880 hours to clear 17,888 pounds of debris. The following was found from 34 sites around the Quad Cities:
- 705 bags of trash – 14,100 pounds
- 119 tires – 2,856 pounds
- 5 appliances – 375 pounds
- 4 bicycles – 92 pounds
- 11 pieces of furniture – 275 pounds
- 11 TVs – 165 pounds
Other items that were found during the Xstream Cleanup were vinyl siding, a mattress, lawn chairs, a swimming pool, a stroller, car parts, railroad ties, fencing, cement blocks and large pieces of Styrofoam.
