Earth Day Cleanup

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About Earth Day

Started by DC native Howard Gasaway of Seafarers Yacht Club in 1985, the annual Anacostia River Earth Day Cleanup is AWS's largest annual volunteer event. Hundreds of volunteers from around the watershed picked up trash, served our community, and enjoyed the Anacostia River. Read our 2025 Earth Day Cleanup After Action Report to see the amazing work accomplished by our volunteers, site leaders, sponsors, and government partners. 

We welcome all community members to be a part of one of the largest single-day volunteer events in the DMV. Please reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions.

Advocating for a Bottle Bill

Our Earth Day Cleanup is a part of our advocacy efforts towards a Bottle Bill in both Maryland and D.C. Bottle Bills incentivize aluminum, glass, and plastic recycling through a deposit and return system. Individuals receive a 10-15 cent return on the items they recycle. Currently less than 25% of bottles and cans actually end up being recycled, and end up in landfills, on the ground, or in our waterways. Our cleanup helps us collect data on how many bottles we are finding in the watershed to support advocating for a Bottle Bill. You can find more information on the Maryland Bottle Bill here, and the D.C. Bottle Bill here.

City Nature Challenge - Pick Up the Trash to Uncover the Treasure!

The City Nature Challenge is an international community science event in which people can document all types of wildlife in their communities. This year, the CNC spans four days, from April 24 - April 27, and coincides with our Earth Day Cleanup. We are encouraging participants of the Cleanup on April 25th to, in addition to picking up trash, taking pictures of wildlife and plants to upload onto the INaturalist application. Click the image below for details and instructions. Participants have until May 10, 2026 to upload their photos. Pick up the trash to uncover the treasure!

2025 Earth Day Cleanup After Action Report