Missouri River Relief and Spire Serves plan Missouri river cleanup near St. Joseph

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- Missouri River Relief and Spire Serves will partner for a river cleanup by boat near the Remington Nature Center.

The cleanup will take place at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20.

"Corporate cleanup partnerships like this create direct, meaningful connections to the river," said Harry Katz, the communications director for Missouri River Relief. "When volunteers step onto the river, see these places firsthand, and help care for them, it changes the way people think about the Missouri River and their relationship to it."

About 30 volunteers will spend the day removing trash from remote sections of the Missouri River shoreline that are difficult to access by land.

Volunteers will gather at the French Bottom Access for a safety orientation before boarding Missouri River Relief boats operated by trained staff and crew members.

Teams will travel by boat to pre-scouted cleanup locations along the river to collect and remove trash for proper disposal. Volunteers are expected to return to the access around 2:45 p.m.

The cleanup is part of the organization's ongoing work to connect people to the Missouri River through hands-on volunteer experiences.

Since 2001, Missouri River Relief has hosted 231 cleanups and deployed more than 100 "Away Team" cleanups across the Missouri River watershed. More than 2,178,000 pounds of trash from the river and surrounding waterways have been removed since the organization's inception.