Clinton, Savanna shoreline cleanups are today

Apr. 17—CLINTON — Local employer Elkay Manufacturing is inviting Savanna, Illinois- and Clinton-area residents to join them in a Mississippi River shoreline cleanup today.

Elkay is co-hosting the cleanup with the mayors of Savanna and Clinton, who are both active members of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative. The event provides residents an opportunity to serve as "citizen scientists" to collect and help track plastic waste along the Mississippi River shoreline as part of a larger environmental study project.

The event, scheduled to take place from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., will be an excellent way for residents to come together as a community, get out in nature and make a difference in the study's success while beautifying the local shoreline, organizers said.

The Savanna event will start at Marquette Park, with plastics collectors heading south along the river. In Clinton, the meeting place will be at Rotary Park, with collection opportunities in any of the parks along the riverfront.

Acting as citizen scientists, the local volunteers, including a large contingent of Elkay's employees, will collect plastic waste they find at select sites along the riverbanks. Participants will log their findings as they go using an easy-to-use, free mobile app called the Marine Debris Tracker. Participants will use this app to record data on litter using GPS to log their location where they found the debris.

"We were excited when Elkay approached us about organizing this community event to clean up our local river banks," said Savanna Mayor Chris Lain. "Our citizens have a proud history of working to beautify our community and caring for our part of the Mississippi River. We've reached out to the Service Club, the volunteers involved in Beautification in Motion, the High School Honors team, and the local Chamber of Commerce to help get the word out and maximize the number of volunteers who can attend the four-hour event."

"I know a lot of people are chomping at the bit to get outdoors and do some good in the world," said Clinton Mayor Scott Maddasion. "This day of volunteering, which benefits one of our most precious local resources, is tailor-made to help residents fulfill that urge to get out in nature and make a difference in our local community."

The event is open to the public. Both mayors and Elkay leadership stress the importance of maintaining social distancing, wearing masks, and bringing gloves to protect residents from the debris they will be handling. Trash bags will be provided to collect plastics and other trash along the riverfront and parks.

"It helps that we will be outdoors, but we are still advising our employee volunteers to practice physical distancing, and to wear their masks when unable to keep 6 feet apart from others," said Connie Dell, Elkay's human resources manager for the Savanna, Lanark and Freeport plants.

The company will have a table set up to hand out trash collection bags at both the Savanna and Clinton event meeting places. They will bring information about the tracking study, local debris "hot spots" where the most plastic debris is expected to be found, how to download and use the Marine Debris Tracker App, as well as information about Elkay itself.

The event came about as a result of the company's active membership in MRCTI. The water bottle filling stations that the company manufactures in Savanna help reduce the single-use plastics that wind up in the environment — often collecting in estuaries along the Mississippi and out in the Gulf of Mexico.

"This study is a perfect opportunity for our employees to use their paid volunteer time to make a difference on an issue that we care passionately about," Dell said. "This event also gives Elkay a chance to connect with the community. We're a growing company and we are excited about our current expansion and what it means for our team members and our communities. Due to the high demand for touchless water bottle filling stations brought on by the pandemic, we are hiring for many positions."

Lain and Maddasion will each speak at their respective kick-off events, followed by a raffle before the crowd disperses to gather the plastics along the local shoreline. The raffle will include products from Elkay as well as other local businesses. Elkay will include bottle filler coolers as part of the raffle.

The cleanup is part of a larger plastics tracking study led by the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, National Geographic Society, and the University of Georgia to combat plastic pollution. This initiative's pilot phase collects data along the upper, middle, and lower Mississippi River in early 2021. The data gathered in these locations will then be analyzed to understand the state of plastic litter along the river's banks. This initiative also serves as an educational resource by working with schools, teachers, and students in the region to enhance their knowledge on marine plastics and pollution reduction.