- The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission estimates about 394,000 pounds of trash were removed from the Ohio River’s shores each year through cleanup efforts.
- ADM volunteers from Erlanger and Silver Grove helped remove around 17,000 pounds of waste over the years through multiple cleanups with the nonprofit.
- During a June cleanup starting at Schmidt Boat Ramp in Cincinnati, volunteers collected scrap metal, tires, tools and electronics along riverbanks in Kentucky and Ohio.
The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission estimates that roughly 394,000 pounds of trash were removed from the Ohio River in 2025.
As one of the United States’ largest rivers, the Ohio receives a disproportionate amount of industrial discharge, agricultural runoff and litter. To combat the ongoing pollution issue, environmental cleanup nonprofits like Living Lands & Waters take to the water, collecting trash from river shorelines and dredging up waste from beneath the surface.
Out of the hundreds of thousands of pounds of waste collected from waterways nationwide in 2025, approximately 17,000 pounds were gathered through multiple cleanup events coordinated by a partnership between Living Lands & Waters and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). The corporation has a larger campus in Erlanger at 1260 Pacific Ave., near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Last June, 30 participants from ADM’s Erlanger and Silver Grove campuses participated in a river cleanup that yielded thousands of pounds of waste. The cleanup was one of many the company has participated in over the past decade. The cleanups are wide-ranging, as volunteers focus on retrieving waste such as scrap metal, tires and discarded tools and electronic waste.
Lisa Roberts, an environmental director at ADM, told LINK nky that volunteers from ADM and Living Lands & Waters gathered at Schmidt Boat Ramp on 2944 Humbert Ave. in Cincinnati. Upon arrival, the volunteers boarded a barge and traveled south down the Ohio River, removing trash from the waterway and the shorelines of Kentucky and Ohio. The cleanup stopped upon reaching the Combs-Hehl Bridge near Fort Thomas.
Once completed, volunteers often stack dozens of full trash bags onto a barge. It is then sorted into material categories, such as metal, rubber or general waste. After that, the items are transported away from the river to proper disposal or recycling sites. Items like scrap metal are often recycled, while general waste is sent to landfills.
Roberts said that for her and the volunteers, the cleanup was more than a teambuilding event, but a way to make a tangible difference in the community. Many of the volunteers have participated in more than one local cleanup.
“It’s really nice to go out there and make that tangible impact,” Roberts said. “You pull up to the shoreline and you see all kinds of waste, and by the time you’re done, it’s all cleaned up, and we know that Living Lands & Waters will then take it, either dispose of it responsibly, or recycle what they can. It gives you that sense of accomplishment.”
The partnership between her organization and Living Lands & Waters began in 2004, although the Greater Cincinnati cleanups started in 2015 after ADM’s purchase of the Wild Flavors’ Erlanger campus that year.
In 2022, ADM’s American River Transportation Company subsidiary donated a 750-horsepower towboat to Living Lands & Waters to help the organization transport barges and equipment up and down major waterways.
Living Lands & Waters founder Chad Pregracke previously touted the donation as a means to expand the organization’s capacity for river cleanups.
“The new tug will allow us to clean up hundreds of more miles of riverfront and remove millions of more pounds of garbage in the coming years,” Pregracke said in a news release.
Looking ahead to this year, Roberts said ADM and Living Lands & Waters are still deciding on dates and times for the annual cleanup, although she noted it will likely be in the late summer or early fall.