For More Information:
Contact: Leah Cafarelli
309.236.0728
leah@livinglandsandwaters.org
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Living Lands & Waters Removes Its 10 Millionth Pound of Trash from America’s Rivers!
South Point, OH, Sept. 8, 2018 - During its 20th year, Living Lands & Waters (LL&W) has just removed 10 million pounds of trash from America’s rivers thanks to volunteers, the garbage barge and a mighty crew of full-time employees.
It’s one of those scenes you have to see to believe. Trash and tires strewn about river banks, wildlife not thriving and residents unknowing of what to do about it all when a series of barges connected to make one larger barge rolls into town. The house barge spans 150’ x 35’, the garbage barge 150’ x 35’, crane barge 80’ x 26’, CORPS barge 110’ x 32’ and finally the excavator barge at 150’ x 32’ making up a river cleanup operation not easily missed.
The visual statement the LL&W barge makes pales in comparison to the hard work and determination put in by the 100,000+ volunteers, sponsors and crew members. Spending up to nine months living on the barge, the 10 full-time employees have dedicated themselves to Chad Pregracke’s vision, a vision that was born when he was just a young man growing up on the Mississippi River.
Since 1998, LL&W has worked with more than 100,000 volunteers to remove marine debris. Anything from tires, prosthetic limbs, various forms of plastic and many other discarded items.
About Living Lands & Waters – Chad Pregracke started Living Lands & Waters in 1998 as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the beautification and restoration of America’s major rivers and the education of environmental issues. From his single-boat-beginning, LL&W has grown to an industrial strength, internationally known organization with a fleet of barges and workboats. LL&W engages thousands of volunteers each year in: river cleanups, hands-on environmental education workshops, the Great Mississippi River Cleanup, Adopt-a-River-Mile, Alternative Spring Break, the I-80 Restoration Project, Invasive Species Removal, the MillionTrees Project and Recycle Like a Rock Star.
###
