14th annual Riverkeeper Sweep: Spring cleaning on the Hudson
21 tons of debris cleaned from hundreds of miles of shoreline from NYC to the Adirondacks
June 20, 2025
Katie Leung
Senior Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator
katiel@riverkeeper.org
914-478-4501 ext. 256
Grace Pan, Sweep Assistant
During the 14th Annual Riverkeeper Sweep on May 3, over 1,900 volunteers participated in the Hudson River’s largest annual shoreline cleanup. Despite some wet weather, we achieved incredible results over the course of a single day:
- 263 tires removed
- 2,389 native trees, shrubs, and flowers maintained
- 1,928 volunteers
- 114 projects
- 21 tons of debris cleaned up
The grand total includes 891 bags of trash, 1.6 tons of recycling, and 2.8 tons of tires. Other large debris removed by volunteers included plastic and metal construction materials, plastic barrels, Styrofoam blocks, propane tanks, broken furniture, ladders, refrigerators, TVs, and wood pilings.
Take a look at some highlights from along the river in this photo album:
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This monumental collective effort is made possible by our Sweep Leaders, volunteers, sponsors, local businesses, municipalities, and fellow nonprofit organizations. It’s inspiring to see schools, Scout troops, religious communities, and many others team up to achieve visible, lasting results. All ages were represented among the 1,928 volunteers that participated in Riverkeeper’s 14th annual Sweep.
This year, Riverkeeper revived an exciting partnership with Parks & Trails New York (PTNY) to combine both the Sweep and their first Saturday in May event I Love My Park Day. Over 150 volunteers came together at four joint project locations along the Hudson River: the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail in Croton, Little Stony Point in Cold Spring, Piermont Marsh at Tallman Mountain State Park in Sparkill, and Norrie Point Environmental Center in Staatsburg. We are grateful for the collaboration with PTNY and the project leaders, and we look forward to partnering again next year.
Though the amount of trash we find on our shorelines remains formidable, some of our Sweep project leaders report that their sites are getting steadily cleaner year after year. These annual cleanups appear to be having a cumulative effect on the amount of trash in and around the Hudson and its tributaries, and the care and attention of local volunteers is leading to greater efforts by the wider community to minimize litter.
We will continue the Riverkeeper Sweep between July and October in partnership with New York City Council Member Susan Zhuang. All are welcome to join us at six Sunday cleanups to reduce litter and encourage local community stewardship in Borough Park, Brooklyn.
What’s in Hudson River trash?
Single-use plastics, including bottles and food packaging, make up the bulk of the trash gathered at Sweep projects. Riverkeeper has helped pass legislation to reduce the volume of single-use plastic and micro-debris in the environment, such as the 2015 Federal Microbeads Free Waters Act, the 2019 New York City bill restricting the sale or use of certain polystyrene items, and the 2020 New York State Bag Waste Reduction Law. Perhaps because of this legislation, some Sweep leaders reported a reduction in single-use plastic bag litter at their sites.
Beginning in 2023, we asked volunteers to estimate the percentage of plastics found from all the trash they collected and to note product brands on items found during their cleanups. This year, the Sweep sites estimated that 55 percent of the collected trash was plastics. Out of 52 types of litter identifiable by brand labels, Sweep participants found the highest number from PepsiCo beverage products, Poland Spring, Frito-Lay snack products, and Coca-Cola beverage products, followed by Dunkin’, Starbucks, and McDonalds (see below):
In 2025, cigarette butts were the most common type of trash found at the project locations. Other common items included bottle caps, beverage bottles (plastic, glass, and aluminum cans), food wrappers and take out containers. The most amount of tires were collected from a site at a waterway that leads into the Rondout Creek in Eddyville, totaling 214.
Among this year’s surprises were a jet ski, a pedal boat, a rat trap, a fishing boat bumper, two cat carriers, creepy dolls, a decoy duck, a fire extinguisher with powder in it, a real estate sign, a bag of insulin, an oxygen tank, fishing lures, a car hood, a Yeti mug, an Amazon fire tv stick, a large stuffed teddy bear with psychedelic colours, animal skulls, a bird skeleton, and a Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesha family statue.
While these were fun and interesting finds, the most alarming was a bird’s nest made mostly out of plastic and string found in Beacon, Dutchess County. In urban environments where plastic litter is abundant, birds can take and weave plastic into their nests. This can be seen as an adaptation to nesting in cities, however, plastics can pose a hazard for entanglement and toxin exposure, especially for chicks.
One volunteer in Hastings-on-Hudson, Westchester County also unfortunately found a dead sturgeon, which was reported to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Both Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon are both endangered species, and reporting dead sturgeon provides valuable data for conservation efforts to better understand their populations and threats.
What we’ve achieved in more than a decade
Sweep projects can vary considerably. In some, volunteers gather debris by land or by water, often using kayaks and small watercraft. In others, volunteers participate in ecological restoration by planting trees, removing invasive species, or restoring street ends where urban waterways meet the pavement. Over the course of 14 years, Riverkeeper Sweep has organized 1,463 projects and over 26,500 volunteers who have collectively removed 396 tons of debris, including 38 tons of recycling and 2,550 tires. Volunteers have planted or maintained over 11,240 native trees, shrubs, and flowers, and removed thousands of pounds of invasive species.
Sweep as ecological restoration
Nineteen of this year’s projects included ecological restoration: maintenance and planting of trees, shrubs, and plants, as well as removal of invasive species. Volunteers planted 200 native trees and shrubs, and maintained 2,189 more by pruning, spreading topsoil and mulch, and clearing weeds. These species included ninebark, dogwood, milkweed, rudbeckia, buttonbush, swamp rose, river birch, white pine, pitch pine, and maples. Volunteers also removed more than 13,000 pounds of invasive plant species, including mugwort, water chestnut seeds, tree of heaven, barberry, burning bush, garlic mustard, knotweed, honeysuckle, bittersweet, and bamboo. As more trash is removed from the shoreline and other natural spaces, there is more light and space for native plant life to flourish. Not only does this contribute to a healthier ecosystem, but it also helps protect surrounding properties from flooding during heavy rainstorms.
Comprehensive Data Collection Initiative
Sweep’s Comprehensive Data Collection Initiative (CDCI), which identifies and records every single piece of trash collected at a site, was in full swing this year, with 33 of the Sweep sites participating (over 30 percent increase compared to the number of participating sites in 2024).
Detailed data gathered with CDCI offers insights into how much and what kind of waste enters the Hudson. During this year’s Sweep, volunteers at the 33 sites carefully tallied all the trash collected, using a worksheet adapted from the Ocean Conservancy. Here are the top 10 items found at these sites:
Fishing and boating debris in the river
In the 56 years since Riverkeeper’s founding, the Hudson River’s water has become cleaner and safer for recreational boating and fishing. Although we are proud that the river is so well used, the large amount of fishing and boating waste gathered during Sweep reflects the need for more care and concern. Roughly 70 percent of the CDCI sites found styrofoam buoys from boats and docks, pieces of rope or fishing line one yard or longer, worm containers, the occasional fishing rod, fishing hooks, and bags of dead fish. Some Sweep leaders have formed informal partnerships with groups of local fishermen who participate in their own cleanup activities.
Microplastic madness
This year cigarette butts and plastic pieces topped the chart at CDCI sites, along with food wrappers, plastic bottles and caps, plastic and foam packaging, and plastic bags. Micro-trash was particularly prominent at CDCI sites, with over 3,500 plastic, foam, and glass pieces under 2.5 cm in diameter collected. Marine animals often mistake these small bits for food, harming the animal and introducing plastic into the food web.
CDCI volunteers collected more than 4,500 cigarette butts this year. Though cigarette butt litter is the most “accepted” form of litter worldwide, it has become a major source of environmental pollution. The nicotine filters of cigarette butts are made of a type of plastic called cellulose acetate, which is not biodegradable and releases toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and microplastics when it breaks down.
Riverkeeper Sweep succeeds because of support from our sponsors. We are truly grateful for their financial contributions as well as the time and volunteer hours these companies spent cleaning up the Hudson with Riverkeeper. Thank you!
Related campaigns
Riverkeeper Sweep campaign
Cleaning up shorelines along the Hudson River and its tributaries
Protecting and restoring habitats
The Hudson River watershed is home to a breathtaking diversity of life. Protecting and restoring our aquatic habitats is critical for their renewal and for a healthy future for all life in the watershed
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